Latest news with #JulianHill
ABC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Palestinian woman released from immigration detention after visa 'personally' cancelled
A Palestinian grandmother has been released from an immigration detention centre a week after her visa was "personally" cancelled by a federal assistant minister over alleged security concerns. Maha Almassri, 61, was detained by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at her son's home in Sydney's west last Thursday and taken to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. Ms Almassri fled Gaza in early 2024 and arrived in Australia, where she was granted a bridging visa. In a document seen by the ABC, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Customs Julian Hill "personally" made the decision to cancel her visa because he reasonably suspected that she "does not pass the character test". The document stated that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) advised the immigration department "it had assessed Ms Almassri to be directly or indirectly a risk to security". The ABC has confirmed with multiple sources familiar with the case that the 61-year-old was released from the detention centre on Thursday. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government would not comment on the visa "cancellation" but said that any person given an "adverse security assessment" remains in detention. "Any information in the public domain is being supplied by the individual or her family and is not necessarily consistent with the information held by our intelligence and security agencies," Mr Burke said in a statement on Friday. "For people in Australia who have been given an adverse security assessment, none of them have been given visas, and they remain in detention in accordance with the Migration Act." Ms Almassri's family and her legal team declined to comment on Friday. In a statement provided a day after she was detained, her family condemned the dawn raid on the "loving mother, sister, and grandmother" and questioned the reasons provided for cancelling her visa. "She has lost members of her family back in Gaza; her home and town of Khan Younis have been systematically bombed and destroyed," the statement read. "We are all for protecting this great nation but are very concerned by the vague ASIO assessment and report, which was accepted by the immigration department." Mr Hill has also been contacted for comment.
SBS Australia
5 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Palestinian woman released from detention after Australian visa cancellation
A Palestinian woman detained for over a week following the cancellation of her visa has been released overnight. Maha Almassri was taken from her home in Punchbowl in Sydney's south-west at 5am last Thursday, and initially held in Bankstown police station before being transferred to Villawood detention centre, according to her family. Her Australian visa was cancelled by Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill after failing the character test, according to a document seen by SBS News. A private Facebook post confirmed her release on Thursday night, which SBS News has verified with a source close to the family. Details of the release are unknown, and the status of her visa is unclear. Australia's Migration Act grants its home affairs minister — or a chosen delegate — the right to cancel a person's visa on character grounds or if the cancellation is deemed to be "in the national interest". The document stated that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation assessed Almassri to be "directly or indirectly a risk to security", therefore deeming she "objectively fails the character test". Alison Battisson, a lawyer acting for Almassri, declined to comment. SBS News contacted Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's office for comment. "The government will not be commenting on this cancellation," a spokesperson for Burke told SBS News. "Any information in the public domain is being supplied by the individual or her family and is not necessarily consistent with the information held by our intelligence and security agencies."
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Palestinian woman released from immigration detention in Sydney a week after assistant minister cancelled her visa
A Palestinian woman has been released from immigration detention a week after she was detained by authorities when a federal assistant minister 'personally' cancelled her visa. Last Thursday, Maha Almassri, 61, was awoken by Australian Border Force officers at her son's home in western Sydney and taken to Villawood detention centre. She was told her bridging visa had been cancelled after she failed a character test. Almassri fled Gaza in February 2024 and entered Australia on a visitor visa shortly afterwards. She was granted a bridging visa in June 2024 after she applied for a protection visa. Mohammed Almassri, Maha's cousin, confirmed the grandmother was released from Villawood on Thursday afternoon. He said Maha had requested privacy and was unable to give further details. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email In a document seen by Guardian Australia, Maha Almassri was informed her visa had been cancelled 'personally' by the assistant minister for citizenship and cultural affairs, Julian Hill. The document said 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 told Guardian Australia the family had been given no further information by the government explaining why she was detained or the reasons why she had failed the character test. According to the Migration Act, a person does not pass the character test if they have been assessed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) to be a direct or indirect risk to security. Her cousin said security checks were made on her by both Australian and Israeli authorities before she was granted a visa and cleared to leave Gaza, and that her age made her an unlikely threat to Australian national security. 'She's an old lady, what can she do?' Mohammed Almassri said last 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].' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Maha Almassri has more than 100 Australian relatives living across the country, Mohammed said last Friday. His Australian children were evacuated from Rafah in March last year. In a social media post on Thursday night, a member of the community wrote that Maha had been released and thanked the home 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 home affairs department was contacted for comment.
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Australia detains Palestinian grandmother who fled Gaza
LONDON: A Palestinian grandmother who fled the war in Gaza has been detained in Australia by immigration officers after they raided her son's home in Sydney. Maha Almassri, 61, was taken away in a pre-dawn raid on Thursday by 15 members of the Australian Border Force, her family said. She was told her visa has been canceled after she failed a character test, Guardian Australia reported. Almassri left Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in February 2024 and arrived in Australia, where many of her family live, on a tourist visa soon afterwards, her cousin Mohammed Almassri said. She had been staying with her son in western Sydney, where the raid took place at 5.30 a.m. She was taken to a nearby police station and transferred to Villawood detention center, Mohammed told the Guardian. Her visa was canceled by the assistant minister for citizenship and cultural affairs Julian Hill, who 'reasonably suspects that the person does not pass the character test' and was 'satisfied that the cancelation was in the national interest,' a document seen by the newspaper and SBS News said. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization assessed Almassri to be 'directly or indirectly a risk to security,' it said. Mohammed said that his cousin was in poor health, frightened, and struggled to talk over the phone because she was so upset. He said that the Australian and Israeli authorities carried out security checks before she was cleared to leave Gaza, where almost 58,000 people have been killed in a 21-month Israeli onslaught. 'She's an old lady, what can she do?' Mohammed said. '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).' A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told SBS News that the government would not comment on the case. 'Any information in the public domain is being supplied by the individual and is not necessarily consistent with the information supplied by our intelligence and security agencies,' the spokesperson said. Almassri had reportedly been granted a bridging visa in June last year after applying for a protection visa. Last year, Amnesty International accused Australia of rejecting more than 7,000 Palestinian visa applications since the Israeli offensive on Gaza started in 2023.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Outcry as Australian authorities detain Palestinian grandmother on security grounds
A 61-year-old Palestinian woman, Maha Almassri, who fled the conflict in Gaza, was detained in Sydney after Australian authorities cancelled her visa. Her visa was "personally" cancelled by assistant minister Julian Hill following an assessment by the Security Intelligence Organisation, which deemed her a "risk to security" and stated her removal was "in the national interest." Ms Almassri's family described her arrest as traumatic and unjust, asserting she poses no threat due to her poor health and previous security checks by both Israeli and Australian authorities. Human rights lawyers criticised the lack of transparency and the practice of early-morning raids, questioning the feasibility of removing someone to Gaza given the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The detention has sparked protests by her family, who fear the increasingly hostile climate towards Palestinians in Australia may be influencing immigration decisions, especially given similar recent visa cancellations.
