Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre killing: Mohammad Al Lami faces Perth court with serious injury

An Iranian man accused of fatally stabbing a detainee at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre has faced court with a large patch and surgical tape over his eye.

The West Australian understands Mohammad Al Lami suffered a serious injury to his eye during the violence that erupted at the centre’s Hawk compound last week.

The 29-year-old appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday morning after homicide detectives charged him with the murder of Gokhan Kan overnight.

He did not speak during the brief appearance — simply nodding when asked if he understood the charge against him.

Instead, Mr Al Lami’s duty lawyer spoke on his behalf, asking for a three-week adjournment, and that he be remanded in custody until July 20.

His alleged victim, Mr Kan, 32, was allegedly stabbed with a makeshift knife, allegedly over an outstanding drug debt on June 15.

Two people were taken into custody in the immediate aftermath of Mr Kan’s violent death, however only Mr Al Lami has so far been charged over the killing.

It is understood Mr Kan, from Turkey, came to Australia at the age of three and served time in a Melbourne jail before being sent to the Northam detention centre after his sentence, where he had spent the past three years.

It is also understood he had signed to return to Turkey about a year ago.

A witness to the violent incident on June 15 told The West Australian he watched on as Mr Kan “gasped his last breath”, adding that there was “blood everywhere” after the victim was allegedly stabbed in the neck in his room.

He claimed several people were screaming around Mr Kan’s lifeless body, pleading with guards at the detention centre to call for an ambulance.

Mr Kan was taken to Northam Regional Hospital but could not be saved.

The WA Police riot squad also responded to the incident, and a fire ignited inside the compound.

“I ran out of my room at 11.15pm after I hear a fight break out,” a witness said at the time.

“Once out there I saw a man on the floor … blood was everywhere and people were around him.

“He died right in front of my eyes just 2m away from me.”

Another detainee, who said he was friends with Mr Kan, said inside Yongah Hill was “very bad”. “So scary, you know. Everyone has a knife. There’s no safety here, there’s nothing.”

He also allegedly witnessed Mr Kan’s neck be slashed before he fell to the ground.

“He was looking at us (and) we tell him please don’t die. Please don’t die,” he said.

In footage from inside the centre, paramedics were seen giving CPR to the man on the ground before he is taken on a stretcher to an ambulance waiting outside.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said Mr Kan’s death was a “tragedy and remained traumatic for everyone who was involved, including the people who were still in detention”.

“There’s no sanctification hearing that someone has been charged with his murder,” he said. “The truth is regardless of any outcome of a trial, Gokhan or anyone who is subsequently charged, are all victims of the detention system and they should never have been in detention.

A spokesperson for the Australian Border Force said it expressed its condolences to Mr Kan’s family and friends.

“As this matter will be subject to ongoing investigation, it would not be appropriate to comment further,” they said.