Record number of Indigenous deaths in custody sparks outcry in Australia's New South Wales

By Anadolu staff

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state has recorded its highest-ever number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders deaths in custody this year, causing outcry in the country, local media reported on Wednesday.

The state has so far recorded 12 deaths in custody this year, ABC News reported, citing NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan.

In a rare public statement, O’Sullivan described the situation as a “profoundly distressing milestone,” highlighting the ongoing and “entrenched over-representation” of Indigenous Australians in the state’s prison system.

"They are individuals whose deaths demand independent and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability," she said.

O’Sullivan added that the number of Aboriginal deaths in custody had increased by 18.9% over the past five years.

The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited, a community-run organization, in a statement called the report as a "horrifying record."

“This is a crisis and a preventable tragedy that should deeply alarm everyone in NSW. A prison sentence should not be a death sentence,” said Karly Warner, the CEO of the organization.

In May, a 24-year-old Indigenous man also died after being restrained by two plainclothes police officers during an altercation with a supermarket security guard in Alice Springs of Northern Territory.

According to ABC, 594 Indigenous people have died in custody since 1991, including nine so far this year.