Labor Abandons Human Rights: Sheikh, Family Pay Terrible Price

Greens Candidate for Grayndler, Sam Byrne, has condemned the Rudd Labor Government’s decision to deport Sheikh Mansour Leghaei.

“After 16 years in Australia, the Sheikh and his family are paying a terrible personal price for the government’s cowardice in the lead up to the Federal election,” Sam Byrne said.

“Labor’s desperation to pander to racism has led to this decision, in defiance of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and any principles of natural justice.”

“Once again Labor is abandoning any principle. If they don’t stand for human rights, what do they stand for?”

“I call on the Government to reverse its decision, and at the very least release these secret old ASIO allegations against the Sheikh and give him a chance to respond.”

“Sheikh Leghaei has made a substantial contribution to multi-faith dialogue and our local community, and we will continue to support him.”

Sam Byrne

Contact Sam on 0408 231 509

Also from the Greens:

1. Dale Mills writes in Green Left that the deportation of Sheikh Mansour is another instance of the Australian government silencing people it doesn’t agree with (click here).
2. Senator Scott Ludlam of the Greens has advised that he will ask questions on notice in parliament to the Minister for Immigration and to ASIO about Australia’s failure to respond to the UN’s request to put a halt to Sheikh Mansour’s deporation.
   

Monday, May 17th – the Minister for Immigration, Mr Chris Evans, decided NOT to intervene in Sheikh Mansour’s deportation process, choosing rather to hide behind the ageing negative security assessment that goes back to 2004.

The Sheikh’s support team, when they announced their disappointment with the Minister’s decision, mentioned too that the United Nations Human Right Committe had already written to the Australian government, asking them NOT to deport Sheikh Mansour until they could take a good look at his case and assess whether his funamental human rights had been violated by the Australian government in the way they handled the case!

Thus far the Minister has shown no indication that he is considering complying with the UN’s request!

The following major newspapers took up the story:

• Deportation of sheikh puts Australia at odds with the UN (Rick Fenely, Sydney Morning Herald)
• Iranian cleric loses battle to stay (James Madden, The Australian)
• Deporting sheikh would breach human rights ( Sarah Gerathy, ABC News)

The story was also picked up by the following TV media:

• SBS 9.30pm news:

• 10 News:

• ABC News

Sydney, May 17: Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans’ decision to deport Sheikh Mansour Leghaei is in direct contravention of the UN’s wishes, who sent in a formal request to the Australian Government last month.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva issued a request on April 21 asking the Australian Government not to deport Dr Leghaei and his accompanying dependants while it is considering his case.

Dr Leghaei’s legal team sent a petition to the UN Committee last month claiming the Government’s treatment of his case contravened the his human rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Australia is a party. Under the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, individuals in Australia may lodge complaints with the UN Committee if all domestic remedies have been exhausted.

Under Rule 92 of the UN Committee’s Rules of Procedure, a complainant may request urgent “interim measures” to prevent deportation where “irreparable harm” would occur if the deportation proceeded. Such measures remain in place until the complaint is finally determined, which usually takes about one year.

“Dr Leghaei was denied his human right to a procedurally fair hearing in the issue of an adverse security assessment by ASIO and in the decision to deport him which relied upon that assessment,” said Associate Professor Ben Saul, Co-Director of Sydney University’s Sydney Centre for International Law and one of the barristers who prepared the petition.

“Like numerous others who have been subject to adverse security assessments by ASIO, Dr Leghaei has never been told the basis of the allegations against him.

“Our strong case will have ramifications for others in Dr Leghaei’s situation both in Australia and internationally, where a person is unable to see or challenge any of the evidence against them.”

Dr Leghaei and his family, who have lived peacefully in Australia for 16 years, have never been granted permanent residency due to adverse security assessments issued against the Sheikh by ASIO several years ago.

In March Dr Leghaei appealed to the Minister to exercise his ministerial powers and allow him to remain in the country. On May 17 Senator Evans granted visas to Dr Leghaei’s wife and son but denied a visa to the Sheikh. He has been given six weeks to leave the country.

Australia is being accused of violating Articles 2, 13, 14, 23, 24 and 26 of the ICCPR .

His petition details that:

• Dr Leghaei has been denied a fair hearing in ASIO’s issue of an adverse security assessment, in the Department of Immigration’s decision to rely upon that assessment to refuse him a visa, and in all proceedings before the Migration Review Tribunal and Federal Court of Australia;
• He has been discriminated against because was denied procedural fairness because he was not an Australian citizen or permanent resident;
• The deportation cannot be justified because, in the absence of proof he is a genuine threat to national security, it would split his family and deprive his 14 year old daughter, an Australian citizen, of both her parents.

Media Contacts
Helen Signy 0425 202 654 email
Ben Saul 02 9351 0354, email
Father Dave Smith 02 9569 1255, email

A brilliant article by Rick Feneley was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on May 1st in which the case against Sheikh Mansour Leghaei was exposed as baseless.

The article, Accusations Lost in Translation, chronicles a rather worrying list of accusations that have been made against the Sheikh – accusations that incriminate not only Mansour but his entire family.

Sheikh Mansour’s sister, for instance, is depicted as an agent of the Iranian government who walks the streets of Tehran with a walkie-talkie hidden under her veil, informing on women who dress immodestly. The detailed nature of the accusation would suggest that it must have some basis in reality, except that Mansour doesn’t have a sister!

Of course this is only one of a series of accusations about our Iranian Sheikh, but Feneley’s article brought to mind for me Anthonly Flew’s old dictum – that 100 leaking buckets hold no more water than one leaking bucket. Read it here.

The other news is that on Monday May 3rd Mansour was given yet another two week extension on his visa, to give more time to the Minister to make up his mind about his future. How long, O Lord, must we wait for justice?