A Palestinian lady has been launched from immigration detention every week after she was detained by authorities when a federal assistant minister “personally” cancelled her visa.
Final Thursday, Maha Almassri, 61, was awoken by Australian Border Power officers at her son’s residence in western Sydney and brought to Villawood detention centre. She was instructed her bridging visa had been cancelled after she failed a personality check.
Almassri fled Gaza in February 2024 and entered Australia on a customer visa shortly afterwards. She was granted a bridging visa in June 2024 after she utilized for a safety visa.
Mohammed Almassri, Maha’s cousin, confirmed the grandmother was launched from Villawood on Thursday afternoon. He mentioned Maha had requested privateness and was unable to offer additional particulars.
In a doc seen by Guardian Australia, Maha Almassri was knowledgeable her visa had been cancelled “personally” by the assistant minister for citizenship and cultural affairs, Julian Hill.
The doc mentioned the assistant minister “reasonably suspects that the person does not pass the character test” and was “satisfied that the cancellation was in the national interest”.
On Saturday, Mohammed Almassri instructed Guardian Australia the household had been given no additional info by the federal government explaining why she was detained or the the explanation why she had failed the character check.
Based on the Migration Act, an individual doesn’t move the character check if they’ve been assessed by the Australian Safety Intelligence Organisation (Asio) to be a direct or oblique danger to safety.
Her cousin mentioned safety checks had been made on her by each Australian and Israeli authorities earlier than she was granted a visa and cleared to go away Gaza, and that her age made her an unlikely menace to Australian nationwide safety.
“She’s an old lady, what can she do?” Mohammed Almassri mentioned final week. “What’s the reason? They have to let us know why this has happened. There is no country, no house, nothing [to go back to in Gaza].”
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Maha Almassri has greater than 100 Australian family members residing throughout the nation, Mohammed mentioned final Friday. His Australian kids had been evacuated from Rafah in March final 12 months.
In a social media submit on Thursday night time, a member of the neighborhood wrote that Maha had been launched and thanked the house affairs minister, Tony Burke, for his “efforts in achieving justice” for the 61-year-old.
“We are pleased to inform you of the release of our sister … after her week-long detention at Villawood detention centre,” they wrote.
“We would also like to thank everyone who contributed sufficient information that contributed to her release.”
The house affairs division was contacted for remark.
