REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUPANG -- Four of the 47 African and Middle Eastern asylum seekers claimed that they were tortured by the Australian Naval officers forcing them to turn back to the Indonesian waters.

On Wednesday, Mohamed Abdirashid, an 18-year-old Somalian refugee stated that his right hand was burned using a lighter. He showed his burn injury to the press in a hotel in Kupang.

Three other Somalian refugees were also meted cruel treatment by the Australian Naval officers. They were forced to put their hands on the hot boat engine.

"As a result, they suffered blisters on their hands. The inhumane treatment happened aboard one of the Australian warships," he claimed.