‘Dreaming of sunlight’: federal court to hear refugee’s claim of unlawful imprisonment in Melbourne hotel detention

Mostafa Azimitabar leaves the Melbourne’s Park hotel on a bus in January 2021. The federal court will on Tuesday hear his claim of unlawful imprisonment against the Australian government. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

A refugee detained for more than a year in two Melbourne hotels has spoken out about the enduring trauma of his ordeal, saying the nightmare of his prolonged unlawful detention left him “dreaming of sunlight”.

The federal court will on Tuesday begin hearing a case brought by Mostafa “Moz” Azimitabar against the Australian government, in which he alleges he was unlawfully detained for 15 months in Melbourne’s Park and Mantra hotels.