Hundreds rally in Australia over juvenile 'torture' footage

Hundreds of people on Saturday staged rallies in cities across Australia following allegations of abuse against juvenile in detention.

Demonstrators gathered in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to express shock at footage showing indigenous boys being tear-gassed, BBC reported.

Footage of the abuse first emerged on national broadcaster ABC's Four Corners programme.

Filmed at the Don Dale youth detention centre in the Northern Territory, the programme focused on the treatment of Dylan Voller, who was assaulted, stripped naked and kept in solitary confinement aged 13 and 14.

He was also among a group of six children who were subdued with tear gas.

The six boys are seeking damages for mistreatment, according to ABC.

Australia's Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has called for an investigation. However, he rejected calls for a broader national inquiry.

Aboriginal people aged between 10 and 17 represent 59 per cent of the prison population in Australia, a country of 23 million people, of which around 450,000 are indigenous, according to Amnesty International.

Australian Aborigines have been victims of constant abuse since colonisation and have been dispossessed of their land and systematically discriminated against.

--IANS

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