‘Systemic failures at every step’: the Indonesian children Australia sent to adult jails for years

Maikel Husa, Usman Ari, Vandi, Rudi Usman, Hamzah Gogo and Muhammad Maleng were all detained as children, then spent an average of 864 days in Australian jails. Composite: Guardian Australia

A bare few miles inside Australian waters, the dark nearly absolute, a small fishing vessel sat low in the ocean, waiting to be boarded by the Australian navy.

Maikel Husa, a slightly built boy of just 15, was among those watching as the patrol boat approached.