MELBOURNE, Australia — Violent protests erupted at a hospital in Australia’s Outback region where medical staff were treating a man charged with murdering a young Indigenous child.
Jefferson Lewis stands accused of kidnapping the 5-year-old girl from an Indigenous settlement near Alice Springs in central Australia over the weekend. Authorities discovered the child’s remains on Thursday. Following Indigenous customs that prohibit speaking the names of the deceased, she is being referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Before his arrest Thursday, Lewis was severely beaten and left unconscious by community members, according to police reports.
Medical personnel at Alice Springs Hospital treated Lewis while hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside late Thursday, calling for him to face traditional Indigenous punishment known as payback, which typically includes spearing or physical beatings.
Law enforcement officers deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the demonstration. Multiple police cruisers sustained damage during the unrest.
Once doctors cleared Lewis for release, authorities immediately transported him by aircraft to Darwin, the Northern Territory’s capital city located 900 miles north, where he remains in protective custody.
Formal charges against Lewis are anticipated to be filed Friday.
