DFAT travel advice regarding Iran says, “We continue to advise do not travel to Iran and leave Iran as soon as possible…”
But on Thursday afternoon (26.02.26), Border Force officers seized an Afghan asylum seeker, “Nadim” (not his real name), took him to Sydney airport in an attempt to force him back to Iran.
Nadim, who had travelled on an Afghan passport, with a sponsored visa, arrived in Australia from Iran on Sunday 22 February. His brother (an Afghan refugee and an Australian citizen) waited for him at the arrivals gate, but he never emerged.
Inside the airport Border Force officers had cancelled Nadim’s visa. Nadim was then detained and taken to’ a designated place of detention’ at a hotel in Parramatta.
Despite numerous requests to seek asylum in Australia, he was ignored and on Thursday was taken to the airport.
Only desperate last minute legal intervention prevented his deportation to danger. He was returned to Villawood detention centre around 1.00am Friday morning (27.02.26) after a hastily convened Home Affairs interview at the airport.
“These airport visa cancellations must stop,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, “Just like boat turn-arounds at sea, Labor is trying to turn asylum seekers around at airports. Labor is trashing their human rights. Asylum seekers have a right to make a protection claim.
“The idea that it was safe to send Nadim is farcical. It is to Labor’s eternal shame that they are blindly following Donald Trump who, despite his military threats against Iran, has deported around 120 Iranians since September last year. Trump’s current preparations to bomb Iran are well-known. It is also well-known that Afghans are not safe in Iran or Afghanistan. The Iranian government has been expelling hundreds of thousands of Afghans back to Afghanistan.
“Labor has an obligation under the Refugee Convention to properly consider all asylum claims. It must end the turn-arounds and also end its policy of indefinite offshore detention.”
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
