Immigration attempts abduction of baby Asha as situation comes to a head - protestors block exits

Protestors stopped cop cars leaving making sure Asha and mother weren't taken

The situation at the children's hospital in Brisbane appears to be coming to a head, with reports that Immigration police attempted to take baby Asha and her mother from the hospital yesterday morning. They were goons from a private company Serco.


Protestors then surrounded all entrances and exits to the hospital, even stopping departing police cars to make sure Asha and her mother weren't being taken away. I've put the three video's below in order as to how events unfolded.

The latest is that Asha and her mother won't be removed for about a day, no word beyond that. This from the Brisbane Times:

Protesters sustained a hospital vigil through the night after celebrating what they considered a mini victory in the fight to keep an asylum seeker baby from deportation to Nauru.

The patrol will continue until the government guarantees it won't remove the one-year-old girl known as "Asha" from Brisbane's Lady Cilento Hospital.

They formed human walls to block and check police cars for the one-year-old, chanted into the night and declared they'd "sent a message" to the government.

A strong and vocal show of support, with more than 300 attendees according to organisers, quickly swelled on Saturday afternoon after concerns flared deportation was imminent.

Asha's family's advocate, Natasha Blucher, told Fairfax Media immigration officers had visited the family on Saturday morning to tell them they would be removed from the hospital shortly.

Serco guards then blocked calls to the family, further raising fears they were being made incommunicado in preparation for removal, despite a doctor assuring them they wouldn't be moved, she said.

Fairfax Media understands doctors inside the hospital discussed moving Asha to avoid officials.

Protesters gathered at all three exits to the South Brisbane hospital in an attempt to stop Department of Immigration and Border Protection officials from removing her as horns beeped in support almost non stop.

Dozens swarmed on to the street to stop two separate police cars from leaving until they were satisfied the Darwin-born baby, an "illegal maritime arrival" by virtue of her parents' status, from leaving.

Passionate agitators ordered police to wind down the windows of their car before they would move out of the way. Brisbane Times

We understand baby Asha will remain in LCCH overnight at least. We ask those outside the hospital to respect other patients & staff.

— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) February 20, 2016

An appalling situation from a gov of secrecy, obviously acting directly against the will of the people. Disgusting.

Messiah Turnbull and Dopey Dutton have painted themselves into the proverbial political corner and I don't know how either of them are going to save any face at all getting out of this one. If they're worried about an embarrassing back down then so be it; surely it's time for politicians here to put aside their pride and think about those who it's affecting.

It seems to me that the Queensland police don't want a lot to do with removing a baby like that. I don't see any of them there directing traffic and the like.