Guards at the Nauru detention centre conducted sweeping surveillance of Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young to monitor her movements on the island, a former employee has alleged.
In an extraordinary submission to a Senate inquiry into serious allegations of abuse and conditions at the Australian-run Nauru detention centre, a former employee subcontracted to security provider Wilson Security accused the company of engaging in serious misconduct.
When asked about the allegations on Friday, Tony Abbott said he believed Hanson-Young was being looked after, and rejected the allegations of spying.
The employee raises serious allegations about the security company, including about staff fabricating military backgrounds to gain employment, discrimination against Australian guards and evidence of planned uses of excessive force against asylum seekers.
The submission also contains a disturbing account of Wilson Security guards being tasked to conduct surveillance of Hanson-Young during a recent visit to the island.
When Senator Sarah Hanson-Young visited Nauru, Wilson Security organised a team from ERT [emergency response team] to spy on her while she was on Nauru. This included following her around the island while she was outside of the OPCs [offshore processing centres] and setting up an observation post to watch her room at the Menen hotel, it says.
The call sign used by the guards to identify Hanson-Young in their surveillance was raven, according to the former employee.