Australian authorities have continued to transfer dozens of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from riot-affected detention centres to jails.
The immigration department said 40 detainees had been transferred from detention centres across Australia to a combination of maximum security jails and police cells.
The conservative government of Prime Minister John Howard has threatened to jail or deport those people found responsible for the riots.
Refugee advocacy groups have described the riots as a desperate protest against the punitive conditions under which asylum seekers are held.
Advocacy group Project SafeCom alleged police had used teargas on residents at the Woomera detention centre in the South Australian desert on New Year's Eve and that all detainees were handcuffed and forced to sit in the outdoor basketball court for several hours during room searches.
Australian Federal Police have charged a British man allegedly involved in the most violent disturbance at Villawood detention centre in Sydney, one of several arson attacks and riots at dentention centres across the country in the past week.
The man (33) was charged with two counts of damaging Commonwealth property, two counts of threatening to harm a public official and one count of affray during a fire and break-out attempt at the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney.
Four detainees from a Perth detention centre have already been charged with assault and resisting arrest. A police spokeswoman said further charges were expected.
AFP