Latest news with #Villawood
ABC News
7 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.
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- 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.
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- News.com.au
Young woman in critical condition after Villawood hit-and-run crash
A young woman is fighting for life following a hit-and-run in western Sydney. The woman, aged in her 20s, was crossing the road at the intersection of Woodville Rd and Kirrang Ave in Villawood just before 7.30am on Monday when she was struck by a car, police said. 'Police have been informed that the woman was on a pedestrian crossing when she was hit by a blue Hyundai hatch back,' the police said. 'The driver failed to stop and the vehicle was last seen driving south along Woodville Road.' Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before rushing her to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition. Specialist police from the Crash Investigation Unit are examining the scene. Woodville Rd had been closed between Christiana St and the Hume Highway, but has since been reopened. Buses have also returned to normal routes. Motorists are being advised to allow extra travel time while traffic conditions return to normal. Police are urging anyone with information about the crash, or anyone who was in the area at the time with any available dashcam or mobile phone footage to contact the Fairfield Police Station or CrimeStoppers.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Woman fighting for life after hit-and-run
A young woman is fighting for life following a hit-and-run in western Sydney. The woman, aged in her 20s, was crossing the road at the intersection of Woodville Rd and Kirrang Ave in Villawood just before 7.30am on Monday when she was struck by a car, police said. 'Police have been informed that the woman was on a pedestrian crossing when she was hit by a blue Hyundai hatch back,' the police said. 'The driver failed to stop and the vehicle was last seen driving south along Woodville Road.' Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before rushing her to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition. Specialist police from the Crash Investigation Unit are examining the scene. Woodville Rd had been closed between Christiana St and the Hume Highway, but has since been reopened. Buses have also returned to normal routes. Motorists are being advised to allow extra travel time while traffic conditions return to normal. Police are urging anyone with information about the crash, or anyone who was in the area at the time with any available dashcam or mobile phone footage to contact the Fairfield Police Station or CrimeStoppers.
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- 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.
