Sirul released from Australian immigration detention centre
Sirul released from Australian immigration detention centre
PETALING JAYA: Sirul Azhar Umar, the former police officer sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, has been released from an immigration detention centre in Australia.
His lawyer, William Levingston, confirmed to The Guardian that Sirul was among the dozens of immigration detainees released after a High Court decision on Wednesday.
The court had ruled that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful, overturning a 2004 ruling that non-citizens without visas could be detained indefinitely provided the government intended to remove them as soon as possible.
Levingston said Sirul would not be deported to Malaysia as he faces the death penalty.
“My client is facing death by hanging in Malaysia for a murder conviction, and until the death penalty is abolished by the Malaysian government, the Australian government is unable to deport Sirul Umar due to non-refoulement obligations,” he said.
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In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Sirul’s Australian-based son Shukri Azam confirmed that his father had been released.
“(He is) with me right now, and I’m handling everything on his behalf right now,” he said.
Shukri previously said he and his father had no plans to return to Malaysia, despite the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes, including murder.
Altantuya was shot in the head in 2006 in a forest in Puncak Alam, Selangor. Her body was later blown up with explosives.
Sirul and fellow former police officer Azilah Hadri were convicted in 2009 by the High Court of killing Altantuya, who was described as an interpreter.
They succeeded in overturning their conviction at the Court of Appeal in 2013, but the Federal Court in 2015 restored their conviction and sentenced them to death.
Sirul fled to Australia before the final verdict.
He had been held at the Villawood immigration detention centre since 2015 after being detained by Australian police. His first application for political asylum in Australia was rejected in 2019.
Azilah is currently on death row at Kajang Prison.
Sirul released from Australian immigration detention centre
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