The federal government will pay AU$70 Million to Manus Island detainees to settle their claims of suffering serious physical and psychological injuries in the asylum seeker detention center.

More than 1,900 detainees claimed they suffered serious harm while being held on PNG's Manus Island between 2012 and 2016.

Majid Kamasaee was the lead plaintiff on the case.  He fled Iran in hopes of finding a better life in Australia, but wound up spending eleven months in the offshore facility in Papua new Guinea.

"I came to Australia seeking peace but I was sent to Manus which was hell," Kamasaee said in a statement after the announcement.  "I was in pain every minute of every day and I cried every night until I had nothing left."

The government said it "strongly denied" the allegations but that settling was a "prudent" decision.