EXCLUSIVE
Asylum seekers released from immigration detention following a landmark Supreme Court ruling have been spotted wearing ankle monitors on the grounds of a western Sydney motel.
Ny Breaking Australia photographed a number of men in their temporary accommodation on Monday after being fitted with the security equipment.
The federal government passed emergency legislation last Thursday to tighten supervision and restrictions on 93 inmates who have been released into the community.
An Afghan man, pictured wearing a monitoring bracelet under his sock while smoking behind the motel, said he had previously spent eight years in detention.
He would not give his name or age and when asked if he could explain why his visa had been revoked, he said: ‘No, I can’t’.
“I live well in this area now,” the man said. ‘I feel very comfortable here. I’m completely fine.’
Asylum seekers released from immigration detention following a landmark Supreme Court ruling have been spotted wearing ankle monitors on the grounds of a western Sydney motel
An Afghan man, pictured wearing a monitoring bracelet under his sock while smoking behind the motel, said he had previously spent eight years in detention
There is no suggestion that anyone pictured is a criminal, only that they went in and out of the motel on Monday and that some were wearing ankle bracelets.
Ny Breaking Australia reported last week that nine non-citizens had been staying at the motel since the High Court declared their indefinite detention unlawful.
They were taken from the Villawood Immigration Detention Center to the three-story brick building, which is located far from a highway and near a gas station and a fast-food restaurant.
The motel rents rooms for as little as $99 per night and has an average score of 2.5 out of five from Tripadvisor reviewers.
Another recent arrival at the motel, wearing a bracelet under his gray sweatpants, said he was unable to discuss his circumstances.
“I can’t do that, no, sorry,” he said.
During the afternoon, the first asylum seeker left the motel in a white Kia with two neatly dressed men who returned with him about 45 minutes later.
Ny Breaking Australia photographed a number of men in their temporary accommodation on Monday after being fitted with the security equipment
Another recent arrival at the motel, wearing a bracelet under his gray sweatpants, said he was unable to discuss his circumstances. “I can’t do that, no, sorry,” he said.
A third man, who appeared to be wearing a bracelet under his jeans, was seen earlier in the day dropping what appeared to be a broken bank card into a parking lot drain.
That man was approached last Wednesday while on the phone, when he confirmed that he had only been detained twice refused to explain his situation.
“I’m from Villawood,” he said. ‘I talk to family. Then please.”
On the same day, a heavily tattooed man rolling a cigarette would not say whether he had been released from detention but made it clear he did not want to be interviewed.
“Get out of here,” the man shouted. ‘What the hell are you doing?
“Go the fuck away. I’m calling the police. We are all innocent people here. Why are you trying to talk to us? What are you doing?’
When asked if she could comment on the Villawood inmates, a woman behind the desk said, “No, you can’t, thank you.”
A man who appeared to be wearing a bracelet under his jeans was seen earlier in the day dropping a broken bank card into a parking lot drain (above)
This man was approached while on the phone and twice refused to explain his situation. “I’m from Villawood,” he said. ‘I talk to family. Then please’
The Sydney motel is one of many across the country housing asylum seekers who have been released into the community since the November 8 Supreme Court ruling.
The non-citizens were released after the court was found there There was little to no prospect of them being deported because they were stateless or because no third country would accept them for resettlement.
The government and the opposition worked together to tighten their visa requirements in the community, including fitting them with ankle monitors and imposing prison sentences for violations of reporting requirements.
The asylum seekers each receive at least $550 a fortnight from the government’s Status Resolution Support Service and receive Medicare.
Home Secretary Clare O’Neil said the government is tackling the Supreme Court’s decision in three phases.
This Afghan asylum seeker left the motel in the afternoon in a white Kia with two neatly dressed men who returned with him about 45 minutes later
They included establishing a joint Australian Federal Police and Border Police response to manage the group and introducing the new community protections, which had now been implemented.
The next steps were to refine the legislation and the long-term response after the Supreme Court published its full decision in the new year.
Among those released was hitman Sirul Azahr Umar, who was sentenced to death in Malaysia for the 2006 murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the pregnant girlfriend of a political agent.
Umar, who was a bodyguard to the Malaysian prime minister, was said to be staying in an apartment complex in Canberra.
Another released refugee was jailed for raping a 10-year-old boy after telling a judge that what he did was “culturally acceptable” in his home country.
The pedophile, a Rohingya man from Myanmar known only by the pseudonym NZYQ, was the subject of the Supreme Court appeal that led to the ruling.
A motel resident abused Ny Breaking Australia when approached last Wednesday (above). “Get out of here,” the man shouted. ‘What the hell are you doing?
Gus Kuster, who was born in Papua New Guinea but claims Torres Strait Islander heritage, was also released after spending five years in immigration detention.
Kuster has been in and out of prison for the past two decades for crimes related to domestic violence, drugs, motor vehicles and weapons.
Afghan sexual predator Aliyawar Yawari, who has a history of attacking elderly women, is also among the wave of refugees benefiting from the decision.
Yawari has served a prison sentence for assaulting three women, including one he hit with her walking stick, and has been described by a judge as a ‘danger to the Australian community’.
Since his release from the Yongah Hill detention center in Western Australia, Yawari has been staying at a motel in Thornlie, on the eastern edge of Perth.
When asked last Monday how he felt about being allowed to leave prison, Yawari said: “Yes, good.”