By KARUNA BALASUBRAMANIAN 

A snap rally of more than 100 activists and refugee supporters took place outside The Park Hotel in Carlton on Monday night, after refugees were forcibly transferred there from Brisbane.

Seventeen Medevac refugees were relocated from Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation (BITA) to the Melbourne hotel.

Protesters also called for the release of refugees in detention, including some that have been there for more than eight years.

The event was organised by Fight Together for Justice, the Tamil Refugee Council and the Campaign Against Racism and Facism.

Activists said refugees had their phones taken and a number of them were placed in handcuffs while being transferred. 

“It makes no sense that the government has released 150 of the Medevac Refugees but continues to inflict harm on refugees with forced movements and indefinite detention without a reason,” Jana Favero, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said in a press release.

"The forced movements and the contract debacle with Kangaroo Point Hotel APOD strongly demonstrated how the government is playing with people’s lives," she said.

The refugees were brought to Australia for medical treatment from Nauru and Manus Island and have been held at Kangaroo Point Central Hotel and Apartments for more than a year. 

Last week, the refugees were moved to BITA following a dispute with the hotel owners, the lessor and the sub-lessor Serco.

Kurdish refugee Farhad Bandesh said he attended the protest to show support to his friends in the hotel who were forcibly transferred from one prison to another.

"They are not getting any support and they haven't received proper medical treatment and medication despite being transferred for medical help," Mr Bandesh said. 

Mr Bandesh was transferred from Manus Island to Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) in July 2019 and said he did not receive medical help. 

The artist and musician was released from detention in December 2020 after being held for more than eight years.

He said he now has to pay for the medical treatment he did not receive in detention. 

The protestors marched around the hotel amid a heavy police presence and said they stood in “solidarity with refugees onshore and offshore”. 

Sameera Karimi, protester and RMIT University student, said she wants the refugees to be free and to be treated like every other citizen.

"These refugees [could] be anyone; me, you or my family… It breaks my heart to see the guys in there being detained for eright years," Ms Karimi said.

Ms Karimi said most of the protestors have been present outside the hotel, protesting and showing their support to refugees almost every day. 

In the past few months, many refugees who have been brought to Australia for medical treatment have been released by the Federal Government under the now repealed Medevac laws. 

Liberal MP Russell Broadbent, who has campaigned against indefinite detention, was critical of his own government’s actions.

In a statement to MOJO News, Mr Broadbent said "I cannot see any reason why people would continue to be held in detention and not moved into community-based housing".

Protesters said they are planning to continue daily protests outside The Park Hotel until all of the refugees are released.