Priya Murugappan, the mother from the detained Biloela Tamil family, has been discharged from a hospital in Perth and will soon be returned to Christmas Island.
Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Aran Mylvaganam told SBS News he was on the phone with Priya as she was discharged on Wednesday afternoon.
"There were at least 10 guards involved in the process, she was given the discharge summary as she was being removed," he said.
"She tried to call back again 15 minutes later but as she was talking the guards were trying to stop her. I could hear her telling the guards that 'I need to speak to my lawyer, it is my right'.
"I could hear her in distress and then it hung up," he added.
The Tamil asylum seeker was transferred to Perth earlier this month after 20 days of worsening symptoms that were said to include nearly constant vomiting and severe abdominal pain.
Mr Mylvaganam said that Priya was told yesterday by the doctors that detention-related stress had contributed to her symptoms.
"She is still not eating well and she is still vomiting, the problems she has while in detention on Christmas Island, she still has them," Mr Mylvaganam said.
The detained Biloela Tamil family. Source: Supplied
The Department of Home Affairs said it does not comment on individual cases.
Priya and Nades Murugappan - and their two Australian-born children Kopika and Tharunicaa - have been detained on Christmas island since August last year. They are the only current inhabitants of the detention facility there.
The family was removed from the rural Queensland community of Biloela in March 2018 and taken to a Melbourne immigration centre after their four-year bridging visa expired.
Nades and Priya arrived in Australia by boat separately in 2012 and 2013. Both have claimed different reasons for seeking asylum from Sri Lanka. Priya reported being forced to watch her former husband be burnt alive.
In August last year, the government attempted to deport the family before a last-minute Federal Court injunction forced the plane carrying them to land in Darwin. From there, they were moved to the Christmas Island detention centre.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has said the family will not remain in Australia.
