Three Murderers Identified Among Refugees Released in Australia

Three murders are among 81 foreigners released into the community from immigration detention following a recent decision by the High Court, according to Australia’s immigration minister.

It comes after the High Court on Nov. 8 ruled that detaining stateless people 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” and condemned the centre-left government for posing a threat to public safety by releasing them.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the Commonwealth argued against the High Court decision but said the Albanese government was “prepared for the outcome due to the significance of this case.”

“I would say … not every Australian government has complied with the requirements of the law nor respected separation of power,” Mr. Giles told Parliament.

“The decision of the High Court which requires release affects very, very serious offenders.”

He also argued that the government had continued to put safety issues as the “number one concern” in the community, a claim that was met with disagreement in the parliament.

Among the wave of refugees recently released were three murderers and several sex offenders, Mr. Giles noted.

Murderers and Rapists Among Those Released

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.

While he had been released, the Australian government couldn’t deport Mr. Umar to Malaysia as he would face the death penalty.

Details of the other two convicted of murder have not been revealed. Meanwhile, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley pointed to the case of Afghan-born Aliyawar Yawari, a sex predator who had a history of attacking elderly women.

The 65-year-old, who had previously been described by a judge as a “danger to the Australian community,” would be staying in a hotel in Perth, Western Australia.

He fled from Afghanistan to Australia in 2010 after the Taliban killed his father and brother.

Another released detainee, a man from Myanmar known as NZYQ by court order, had served jail time for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in Sydney. He reportedly told a judge that his action was “culturally acceptable” in his homeland.

The convicted rapist was the subject of the High Court case on Nov. 8.

Stringent Visa Conditions To Be Applied

Mr. Giles noted that the released refugees will have “appropriate visa conditions imposed on them” and the government would “continue to work with state and territory law enforcement to keep Australia safe.”

According to the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre, 127 people had been detained for more than five years in Australia, with the average length being 709 days.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said some of the foreign detainees released were under strict visa conditions and needed to make daily reports to the police.

‘“Some of these people have committed disgusting crimes,” she told Parliament.

“Some of them have hurt people who are still here in our country and it is those victims that we care about.”