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

After a negative security assessment that dates back 13 years, Sheikh Mansour Leghaei has finally been told to leave the country.

Father Dave asks Mansour about his history, from his arrival in Australia to his current struggle to keep his family united.

Sheikh Mansour was quite excited when he rang me to tell me that the Immigration Department was giving him a Tribunal hearing where he could appeal to have his security assessment reviewed.  I thought it sounded like a great opportunity too, and happily accepted his invitation to attend the hearing with him and speak as a character witness.  It appears now though that the hearing was simply a proceedural requirement whereby the Department could rubber-stamp the Sheikh’s deportation order!

I was one of a number of persons who spoke passionately in support of the Sheikh.  The Tribunal officer, I thought, could not but be impressed by the testimonies he heard.  Surely he would recognise Mansour as a man of peace and integrity, and reject the negative security assessment that was given him so many years ago.

But as a legal expert later explained to me, ‘why would he do that?’ The Tribunal officer is just another cog in the machine.  It’s not really his place to question assessments made by ASIO.  In theory, he could go out on a limb and challenge the national security services on their assessment, but why would he do that?  Do we really expect him to put at risk his job and his reputation for the sake of an Iranian cleric?

And so the appeal was rejected, and the machinery of deportation grinds on towards its seemingly inevitable conclusion!  Is there anything left for us to do in the name of justice and for the sake of both Sheikh Mansour and our broader community?

Of course there is:

1. Firstly, if you personally know the Sheikh and know him to be a man of peace and integrity, sign this petition.
2. Write to the Minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans.  If you can get your letter completed before Friday February 26 2010, forward it to the Imam Husain Islamic Centre andit will be added to 100’s of others that will be presented to the Minister en masse.  Otherwise send it directly Parliament House, Canberra.
3. Pray.  We could do with some intervention from the Almighty!

Sheikh Mansour is a personal friend of mine who I hold very close to my heart.  And yet this case is about more than just the victimisation of one good man.  It reflects very seriously on the Australian justice system, where it’s now legal to deny someone justice because they are not an Australian citizen.

Moreover, the deportation of Sheikh Mansour will not only be a tragedy for his immediate family but a significant loss to our whole community, and a big step backwards in the work of building relationships of mutual understanding and respect between the Islamic and non-Islamic communities of Sydney.