Australia's Government Wins High Court Deportation Challenge

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Facts

  • Australia's High Court has ruled against the release of an Iranian asylum seeker from immigration detention, as the legal precedent set in a landmark ruling last year was found not to apply to his case.1
  • The man, identified only as ASF17, has been detained and fighting deportation since 2018. He has argued that he would be at risk if he returns to his home country due to his sexual orientation and religious beliefs.2
  • ASF17 is said to have arrived in Australia on a small boat more than a decade ago, allegedly having fled his home in Iran after his wife caught him having sex with another man. Australian authorities have raised doubts over his claims.3
  • This case comes as the High Court outlawed indefinite detention and freed 153 detainees last year. On Friday, however, its justices found that ASF17 had been continuously detained due to his refusal to cooperate with deportation efforts.4
  • Both the Labor Party and the Coalition have welcomed the unanimous — and unsurprising — decision from the High Court. If the court had ruled in his favor, up to 200 asylum seekers that are currently in detention would have had to be released.5
  • Later on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged the Senate to pass laws designed to punish failed asylum seekers that refuse to cooperate with directions to facilitate their deportation.6

Sources: 1ABC Australia, 2Iran International, 3Al Jazeera, 4The Sydney Morning Herald, 5Skynews and 6Australian Financial Review.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. This ruling leaves a disappointing stain on Australia's legacy for human rights. Giving ASF17 a 'Sophie's choice' between indefinite detention or facing persecution in Iran is no real choice at all. This is a devastating ruling for ASF17 and the hundreds of other detainees facing similar conditions.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Daily Mail. This ruling is in line with previous High Court decisions about immigration detention and deportation. Upholding this ruling reaffirms the government's authority to detain individuals who refuse to cooperate with deportation efforts, and deter others that refuse to comply with immigration laws.

Predictions