Don Dale detainee isolated for 84 hours and denied food as coercion technique, investigation finds

Don Dale detention centre in the Northern Territory where a young Aboriginal person was held in a cell for 84 hours after refusing to move to another block. Photograph: Amanda Parkinson/The Guardian

A young Aboriginal person detained at the Don Dale detention centre was kept in isolation for 84 hours, unable to leave their cell or make contact with any support person, and was denied food for some of that time as a coercion tactic by officers, an investigation by the Northern Territory’s Office of the Children’s Commissioner has found.

The investigation examined an incident that took place in April 2024 at the notorious youth detention facility in Berrimah in the NT, which saw a young detainee held in a cell after refusing to move from one cell block to another.