Three murders are among more than 81 immigrants to be released into the community from indefinite detention following denial of their asylum claims according to a decision by the High Court, said Australia’s immigration minister.
The High Court on Nov. 8 ruled that detaining immigrants indefinitely was unlawful, overturning a 2004 precedent. However, the reasons behind the ruling haven’t been revealed.
The move has faced condemnation from lawmakers of the opposition, who described the murderers as “hardcore criminals” while criticising the Albanese government for failing to draft legislation to protect the community from the asylum-seeking criminals who had already been denied asylum by the government.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the Commonwealth argued against the High Court order but the government must comply with the decision.
“The decision of the High Court, which requires release, affects very, very serious offenders,” he told Parliament.
Murderers and Rapists Among Those Released
Among the wave of detainees recently released were three murderers and several sex offenders, Mr. Giles said. One of them was Sirul Azhar Umar, a Malaysian bodyguard to former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
He was convicted of murdering a pregnant Mongolian woman and dismembering her dead body with military-grade explosives.
He faced a sentence of being hanged by a Malaysian court in 2015 but escaped his penalty by fleeing to Australia and was being held in a detention centre for nine years.
Mr. Umar applied for asylum in 2019, but his claim was rejected.
Details of the other two convicted of murder have not been revealed.
According to Mr. Giles, a larger cohort of 340 detainees may also be released under the High Court order. This includes Tony Kellisar, a former Iranian soldier who served 20 years in prison for killing his wife and dissolving her body in a wheelie bin of acid.
Among the released detainees, 27 people had committed grave violent crimes, crimes against children, domestic violence, and sexual or exploitative offences against women.
New Restrictions Become Mandatory
The Albanese government has also announced that the released detainees must comply with strict visa conditions, including reporting their travel plans and details of people they live with, wearing electronic monitoring devices, and following a curfew.People who were previously convicted of violence or sexual assault will be banned from contacting their victims or their victims’ families.
Meanwhile, detainees who committed offences involving children will also be banned from working with children or other vulnerable people.
“Any breach of reporting, of curfew or electronic monitoring conditions is a criminal offence. These breaches have a mandatory minimum sentence of one year and a maximum penalty of five years in prison,” Mr. Giles said on Nov. 18.
Previously, the restrictions would only be applied at the minister’s discretion but following the Coalition’s demand, they have become mandatory.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson criticised the government for not being transparent about “exactly who has been released or exactly what crimes they committed.”
“They knew this for many weeks before the High Court handed down this decision. In fact, they tendered this document in the High Court as part of the proceedings. And so their inability to be ready for this really is a shocking failing to protect our community,” he said.
