Category Archives: Australian immigration and asylum

What happened to the deal – and the refugees – surviving Australian and US politics? | Anne Richard

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I signed the agreement to resettle some of Australia’s refugees from Nauru and Manus Island in the US. I wanted to see how they are faring now

Two years ago, Australia’s then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called to congratulate Donald Trump on his inauguration, and to elicit the new president’s support for continuing an agreement between Australia and the US. Australia had stopped thousands of asylum seekers from reaching its shores and had arranged to detain them on islands in the South Pacific; the US had agreed to resettle some in America. The transcript of the phone conversation makes clear that the deal was a top priority for Turnbull and an unwelcome surprise for Trump, who called it “a rotten deal”.

Related: US believed Australia would take more refugees in exchange for Nauru and Manus deal

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Hakeem al-Araibi’s detention not Sheikh Salman’s responsibility, AFC says

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Asian Football Confederation, which has come under fire for failing to call for the refugee footballer’s release, says its president was recused from overseeing the region 18 months ago

The Asian Football Confederation claims its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, is not responsible for matters regarding the Thai detention of Hakeem al-Araibi because he was recused from overseeing the region 18 months ago out of conflict-of-interest concerns.

The new claim came in response to a call from the World Players Association for Salman to be disqualified from office if the refugee footballer was returned to Bahrain.

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‘Please help me’: refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi tells of his Thai jail ordeal

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Exclusive: In an interview with the Guardian he pleads for his release and says he fears torture and jail if extradited to Bahrain

Hakeem al-Araibi, the refugee footballer from Bahrain who was detained in Thailand while on his honeymoon, has said he is “losing hope” and believes he will be tortured again or even killed if he is deported to Bahrain.

Speaking to the Guardian from Bangkok Remand Prison, a visibly distressed Al-Araibi said he was “terrified ” and that his fear was “getting worse every day”. Al-Araibi was given asylum in Australia in 2017 after fleeing his home country where he was persecuted for his beliefs, tortured in prison and convicted on a trumped-up vandalism charge.

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Australia too slow in considering Saudi teen’s asylum bid, rights group says

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Human Rights Watch says government should have acted with more urgency to help Rahaf al-Qunun

Human Rights Watch Australia has criticised the government’s handling of a Saudi teenager’s bid for asylum, after the 18-year-old was granted safe haven in Canada.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun fled from Kuwait to Thailand, saying she had been abused by her family and feared for her life if deported back home.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Labor says Saudi refugee should be resettled in Australia

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Bill Shorten urges Scott Morrison to accept Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun now that the UN has validated her refugee claim

Labor has said the Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun should be resettled in Australia now that her refugee claim had been validated.

The party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, told ABC radio on Thursday Bill Shorten had written to Scott Morrison urging him to accept Qunun.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi teenager given refugee status by the UN

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Australia to consider asylum request after home affairs minister says she would not get ‘special treatment’

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has been found to be a refugee by the United Nations, and the Australian government will now consider her asylum request, according to the Department of Home Affairs.

The 18-year-old woman barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room on Sunday to prevent her forcible return to Saudi Arabia, where she claims her family will kill her because she has renounced Islam.

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Far-right and anti-racism groups face off in Melbourne flashpoint

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A rally against immigration at St Kilda beach prompts counter-protests but police keep rivals groups apart

Tensions reached boiling point at St Kilda beach in Melbourne as hundreds of far-right wing extremists and anti-racism campaigners faced off in a screaming match and minor scuffles broke out.

Scores of police including some with riot shields and on horseback were on hand to keep the groups apart. A police boat kept watch from the water and two helicopters circled overhead.

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