Latest news with #MahaAlmassri
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Sydney family of Palestinian woman from Gaza plead with home affairs minister over visa cancellation
The family of a Palestinian grandmother detained in Sydney by immigration authorities after a pre-dawn raid have pleaded with the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, for answers about her visa cancellation and 'real representation' to secure her freedom. Maha Almassri, 61, was on Thursday morning awoken by border force officers at her son's home in western Sydney. She had fled Gaza in February 2024 and entered Australia on a visitor visa shortly afterwards. She was granted a bridging visa in June 2024 after applying for a protection visa. Almassri was moved to Villawood detention centre on Thursday, after being told that her bridging visa had been cancelled after she failed a 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. On Saturday, Mohammed Almassri, Maha's cousin, told Guardian Australia the family had been given no further information by the government explaining why she was detained and the nature of the threat she posed to national security. Addressing Burke – the local member for Watson, where Almassri's son lives – directly, Mohammed pleaded for his cousin's freedom. 'We need our auntie back, we need her freedom. She left Gaza [because of] the war and now you put her in detention – that's not right,' he said. 'Why did she fail the security check? Answer our question, please, Tony Burke.' He said the family and Muslim community felt let down by its local member. 'When he won, we thought he would represent our community,' Almassri said, adding the family was concerned about his cousin's physical and mental health as she remains in Villawood. 'We all worry about her because she feels alone, she feels down, she doesn't know what to do. The situation is horrible for her. She's crying all the time. I feel so sorry about her.' In a statement released on Friday, the family, led by Maha's brother-in-law, Soliman Almassri, said its members had voted for Burke after 'advice from community elders that minister Tony Burke [was] the best candidate to represent our community in the current climate'. 'We would like to see real representation of our family and an effective resolution to this dilemma,' they said. They said Almassri 'remains perplexed about the dawn raid' and they 'continue to comfort and reassure her that she is in a peaceful country where a fair justice system prevails'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Some media coverage of Maha's detention had spawned some 'vile anti-Muslim' sentiment, they said, urging the matter to be dealt with 'in accordance with human rights'. They said two other Palestinians from Gaza had also been detained by immigration authorities after raids, one of whom was understood to have been detained on Monday. Mohammed said neither was related to his family. Burke's office did not add to remarks made on Thursday, when the minister said he would not be commenting on the visa cancellation and that the information provided by the family was 'not necessarily consistent with the information supplied by our intelligence and security agencies'. On Friday, the shadow home affairs minister, Andrew Hastie, questioned the thoroughness of the security checks that had resulted in Almassri's visitor visa being granted. 'How does the government intend to remove this person from Australia given the minister previously said no one can be sent back to Gaza at the moment?' he asked, as reported by News Corp. The Almassri family's pleas come after a pro-Palestinian demonstration in western Sydney on Friday afternoon, which was attended by about 150 supporters. The protest, which one attender said was policed by about 50 police officers, took place outside SEC Plating in Belmore, the location of a scuffle that on 27 June left former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas in hospital with a serious eye injury and.
Arab News
4 days ago
- 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
4 days ago
- 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.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Palestinian grandmother detained after Australia cancels visa on security grounds
A 61-year-old Palestinian woman who escaped Israel's war on Gaza earlier this year was detained in Sydney after Australian authorities cancelled her visa on national security grounds, sparking protests and condemnation from her family. Maha Almassri was taken into custody in the early hours of Thursday following a pre-dawn raid by a contingent of nearly 15 Border Force officers at her son's home in Punchbowl in the southwest of the city. She was held at the Bankstown police station and then transferred to the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. According to documents seen by The Guardian and SBS News, Ms Almassri's visa was 'personally' cancelled by the assistant minister for citizenship and multicultural affairs Julian Hill following an assessment by the Security Intelligence Organisation that deemed her to be 'directly or indirectly a risk to security'. The decision stated the elderly woman failed Australia 's 'character test' and her removal was 'in the national interest' under the Migration Act. Ms Almassri arrived in Australia on a tourist visa in February 2024, having escaped the Israeli assault on Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. She was living with her son in Sydney and had applied for a protection visa. While her application was being processed, she had reportedly been granted a bridging visa. Her relatives insisted Ms Almassri posed no threat, citing her poor health, trauma, and the fact she had undergone security checks by both Israeli and Australian authorities before being granted a visa. 'She's an old lady, what can she do?' her cousin Mohammed Almassri told The Guardian, adding that there was ' no country, no house, nothing' for her to go back to in Gaza. She was left terrified during the raid and was unable to speak through tears when he contacted her at Villawood later in the day, Mr Almassri said. 'She was sleeping when the raid happened. She couldn't walk, she was so scared.' Mr Almassri's brother told SBS News the family initially feared that Israeli soldiers had landed at their door. 'They just came like a bunch of police officers and some federal police, and they terrorised everyone inside the house,' Soliman Almassri said in a video message. He described the experience as 'traumatic' and claimed that they had been provided no clear explanation for her detention. The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on individual cases, citing privacy. However, a spokesperson told The Guardian it would 'continue to act decisively to protect the community from the risk of harm posed by individuals', including 'visa cancellation or refusal where appropriate'. The minister for home affairs also declined to comment directly. 'Any information in the public domain is being supplied by the individual and isn't necessarily consistent with the information supplied by our intelligence and security agencies,' Tony Burke was quoted as saying by SBS News. 'Our security checks never stop and this cancellation is proof the system is working.' The Refugee Advice and Casework Service, representing Ms Almassri, said that it had 'nothing to comment on at this time'. Human rights lawyer Alison Battisson criticised the Australian government's handling of the situation, pointing to a lack of transparency and the practice of early-morning raids. 'It's a Palestinian grandma. I would be very interested to understand the decisionmaking process behind it,' she told The Guardian. She also questioned how authorities expected to remove someone to Gaza, given the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. 'Individuals can only be detained if there are reasonable prospects of their removal in the foreseeable future,' she said. Ms Almassri's isn't an isolated case. In November 2024, Australian officials confirmed that a Palestinian person's visa had been cancelled onshore on character grounds. Amnesty International previously accused Australia of rejecting over 7,000 Palestinian visa applications since Israel started bombarding Gaza in October 2023. A protest led by Ms Almassri's family was held outside Mr Burke's office on Thursday, with signs reading 'Bloody Burke' and calls for her immediate release. 'She's traumatised, she's sick and this is the treatment she gets from the Australian government,' said Soliman Almassri. 'We demand that she be released tonight.' Ms Almassri's family said she had more than 100 relatives living across Australia. They traced their origin to a town near present-day Tel Aviv, from which they were displaced during the 1948 Nakba, the mass expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians following the establishment of the state of Israel. Her family also reported another relative's visa had been cancelled last week, although this could not be independently verified. The timing of Ms Almassri's detention coincides with the Australian government's release of a new report on combating antisemitism, which includes stricter screening of visa applicants for antisemitic views. While there is no suggestion Ms Almassri holds such views, her supporters fear the increasingly hostile climate towards Palestinians may be influencing immigration decisions.
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
61-year-old Palestinian woman detained after Australian visa cancelled
61-year-old Palestinian woman detained after Australian visa cancelled Published 11 July 2025, 8:09 am Questions are being raised about the future of a 61-year-old Palestinian woman whose visa was cancelled after she was detained during a raid at her Sydney home. Maha Almassri arrived in Australia from Gaza with her adult children early last year on temporary visas. Her visa now cancelled on character grounds, with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation deeming her a security risk.
