|
Cleric rejects ASIO request to deport himself |
|
|
|
|
Written by Tom Allard
|
|
Thursday, 15 November 2007 |
ASIO has asked a prominent Sydney Shiite cleric, Sheik Mansour Leghaei, to
"voluntarily deport" himself in the latest, bizarre twist in a lengthy bid by
the spy agency to enforce an adverse security assessment.
Sheik Mansour, who came to Australia from Iran 14 years ago and is a father of
four, has hosted the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, at his Imam Husain
Islamic Centre at Earlwood and has been the recipient of a glowing reference
from the Labor frontbenchers Robert McClelland and Anthony Albanese.
He has also been widely praised for his moderate teachings and leading role in
setting up inter-faith dialogues.
But ASIO has accused him of being involved in "acts of foreign interference", or
being a spy for Iran. It also confiscated a notebook from him which it said
contained jihadist material.
ASIO said parts of the notebook - which was seized in 1996 when Sheik Mansour
returned from an overseas trip - discussed a holy war to be fought with
"infidels" who "do not accept the Koran as the book of heaven", as well as
advice on spying.
However, Sheik Mansour has said the notebook was badly mistranslated and has
denied he is, or was, an Iranian spy.
He and his legal team have never been able to see the full detail of the
security assessment made against him, which required the Department of
Immigration to revoke his visa.
He appealed to the Federal Court in 2005, but it ruled that national security
considerations overruled any notion of procedural fairness or natural justice.
Last week, the High Court declined an application for him to appeal against the
decision. Sheik Mansour said that because he had four dependants who were
Australian residents, including one child who was born in Australia, he could
not be forcibly deported. Legal experts disagreed with and said the Immigration
Act trumps the Family Court Act.
This week that led the Australian Government Solicitor, acting for ASIO, to ask
Sheik Mansour to voluntarily leave the country.
"That's the dilemma they have," Sheik Mansour told the Herald yesterday. "I
don't intend to go. I have asked the community and they don't want me to go."
ASIO declined to comment yesterday.
However, this month the agency was ordered to release a list of the documents it
relied on to find the US peace activist Scott Parkin and two other men dangers
to national security.
Mr Parkin was deported from Australia in 2005 while the adverse security
assessments of the Iraqi refugees Mohammed Sagar and Mohammad Faisal extended
their detention on the island of Nauru to almost five years.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
For more information, please visit: Imam Husain Islamic
Centre
Comments posted are the sole opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of AIM. |
