The Australian high commission in Kuala Lumpur informed Malaysian government officials about the High Court’s decision.
While Anwar Ibrahim’s Malaysian government has this yearabolished the mandatory death penalty and offered all 1318 convicts on death row the opportunity to have their sentences reviewed,it has not been eliminated from the country’s justice system.
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As a result,Sirul still cannot be extradited under Australian law. Instead,he will be able to live in Australia with strict visa conditions attached. They will be applied individually depending on the circumstances of the freed detainee,but can include monitoring requirements such as the need to report to the Department of Home Affairs when specified and report any change of personal details such as their address and email address before they happen.
It is believed Sirul is staying in Canberra with his son,who has lived quietly in Australia for more than a decade.
A spokesperson for Minister for Immigration,Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles referred to a joint statement with Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil in which they said the High Court ruling required the release of “affected people from immigration detention”.
“The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force are working closely with state and territory authorities and law enforcement to support community safety,” the statement said.
“The government is considering other measures that may be appropriate to ensure community safety as we work through the implications of the High Court’s decision and await the court’s reasons being handed down.”
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The government had “argued that previous detention settings were constitutionally valid”,they said.
Giles said on Friday that the man who brought the case to the High Court – a Rohingya man who raped a 10-year-old boy in Sydney – had also been released.
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At the time of the Malaysian killing,Sirul had been a member of the police security detail for former prime minister Najib Razak,who was then defence minister. Najib,who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption over the$US4.5 billion 1MDB scandal,has always vehemently denied any connection to the murder.
In a handwritten letter to this masthead,Sirul’s son in May appealed to the Australian government to grant political asylum to his father,who has maintained he was acting on orders.
He said he feared his father would be assassinated if he ever returned to Malaysia. “Whatever happens ... me and my father have made our final decision that we will not be going back or step our foot or finger in Malaysia,” he said.