Sheikh Mansour has been deported!

[fatherdave]

I am still grieving the loss of my friend Sheikh Mansour Leghaei.

No, he is not dead, but he has nonetheless been unwillingly dragged away from all his friends and loved ones here in Sydney (see video here) by the ruling of the Australian government who have judged him to be a risk to national security. Why do they consider him to be a risk? What has he done? None of us know - the Sheikh least of all!

At the formal farewell for Sheikh Mansour last Saturday night he did an extraordinary thing. He swore his innocence on the Koran! This might not seem too extraordinary to an outsider, but those knew the Sheikh like me recognised this as an astonishing act!

When I attended the Immigration Review Tribunal hearing with Sheikh in January of this year, they asked us to place our hand on a holy book and swear to to tell 'the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God' before giving testimony. I did that quite happily with the Bible but when it was Sheikh's turn to do the same with the Koran he refused, and said he'd prefer to make 'the affirmation', which is a more secular version of the oath that doesn't involve any holy book.

I asked Mansour afterwards what stopped him taking an oath on the Koran. He said that it was a personal thing but that he considered the book to be too holy (and himself too unholy) to treat it in this way. I thought this a little odd but respected his position. You can appreciate my shock then when on Saturday night he stood up and told the 1000 plus people there that he wanted to take an oath on the Koran, despite the fact that it was something he'd never done before!

The content of his oath was simple. He told us that he knew the definition of the act that defined the sort of crime he'd supposedly been charged with (ie. an 'act of foreign interferance') and he swore on the Koran that he was innocent and that he would never do anything to harm this country.

If there were any there that night who had doubts about the Sheikh's innocence, they should have been removed at that point. I, for one, have never doubted the man since I got to know him personally, some 5 years ago, and so his deportation both pains me and angers me. The remaining question though is what we can do about it now?

[Maria]

Yes, I feel the same way too. I am enraged at the fact that such injustice can occur in our beautiful country Australia. Although I haven't seen Sheikh much in the last few months because I've been sick, I am still feeling very sad and teary whenever I think about Sheikh and his family, and would really like to convert this heartache into something positive and helpful for Sheikh's cause (also our cause because many members of our communities are vulnerable to such unjust treatment). He's such a lovely person, with such a loving family. I will always remember how Dr Leghaei and his wife helped me out so much when I was having a lot of family problems. God bless them.

I've invited my friends to join the forum, I'm sure they have better ideas than myself All I've been doing lately is writing letters to politicians, and commenting on news articles.

I'm not the knowledgeable when it comes to politics (and please feel free to correct me if I am mistaken in my posts lol), but I was wondering if a lobbying group would be effective? Any thoughts on this brothers, sisters and friends? I was also reading an article featuring A/Prof Ben Saul, in which he mentions that Australia has violated six articles from the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights in its decision to deport Dr Leghaei:
http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/law/436.htm ... oryid=4935
Would it be effective to focus on that point?

[DH]

I am a Muslim, and as I know, Oath on Quran is very huge. For me sheikh does not need to defend himself by even simple words, he is very far away from suspect.
I read what had happened to Mahir Arar. Briefly, he is Canadian citizen who had been accused mistakenly by Canadian government to be part of terrorism group..This was simply a mistake but caused him to be deported back to Syria and jailed. At the end the Canadian gov discovered what had happened and paid him 10 million because of their mistake, with an apology. As I heard from friend, his wife was a lawyer and she made BIG advertisement in the media, which made the matter move. You can read about it in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar
can we get ideas from this story?
Can we call mahir lawyers to have some ideas about how they made the gov respond and discovered their mistake?

[fatherdave]

Hi Maria and DH,

Let me say firstly that I spoke to Sheikh Mansour last night and that he is in good health and spirits. He is at the side of his ailing mother, where his presence is greatly appreciated.

The example of Maher Arar is certainly encouraging. The question is solely how we can keep the matter alive here?

My guess is that the UN deadline of October 21 should be our focal point for any further campaigning. As to private lobbying of politicians, we were told early on that there seemed to be little point. The people in government had already made up their minds, and there's no doubt that should the Liberals get in that they will be worse. Our hope (at a political end) may lie with the Greens, who have been the only group to publicly support Mansour's cause.

Prof Ben Saul will probably be able to give us some guidance regarding the UN demand. I believe he is still in Bangladesh at the moment, but no doubt he'll be in contact when he gets back.

[Maria]

Dear Father Dave and DH,
Thank you very much for your posts, it's great to be discussing this very important issue with people who truly care about human rights

I'm so happy to hear that Dr Leghaei is doing well. I was worried about him because I haven't heard from anyone as to how he's doing. I'm glad that he was finally able to see his parents after so long.

Yeah I am very worried that if the Liberals come in, the situation will get worse. I was also thinking of the Greens. I think a few years ago a Greens senator (Lundrum his name is?) launched an inquiry questioning the validity of ASIO's decision (again my words may not be accurate because I'm not well-versed in politics). Am I also correct in saying that one of the Greens candidates went to Canberra to rally? I remember reading this from somewhere.

As to keeping the matter alive, which I think is really important (because out of sight = out of mind, and many may think that there is nothing we can do because Dr Leghaei has gone back to Iran), perhaps holding regular events in different venues (eg the Church, the Islamic Centre, etc) where Dr Leghaei can speak to us via skype/video conference? How about holding rallies with the theme of 21st October (using a catchy slogan), or how the fight has just begun, etc? Interfaith events that can be publicised may also be beneficial, with the theme of unity and social justice, and the emphasis of Dr Leghaei's contributions in this area (continuing the work of Dr Leghaei as a theme for example). Can we get in contact with the Greens and hold events/ press conferences with them?

DH, Maher Arir's case is highly encouraging. I am also encouraged by Dr Haneef's case. He is now suing the former Immigration Minister who was in position at the time when he was wrongly accused.

I have emailed Ben Saul as well, and it says on his out-of-office reply that he'll be in Bangladesh until a certain day in July.

Thanks for the wonderful posts everyone. Hopefully we can get more ideas from other members?

[agnes]

Hi Dave
Read your posting re your friend the Sheikh. Can't see anything happening without a Bill of Rights. I can't see this happening unless all minorities join together and demand legislation.
Surely human rights lawyers have already looked into a Bill of Rights. I would think that indigenous Australians, those caring for people with disabilities, the gay lobby group and many citizens concerned with justice and equity would support a bill of rights. Not sure how it would sit with mainstream churches though! What about Justice Kirby? Surely if anyone has any ideas then he would have them. I attended one of the meetings organised by Fr Brennan and his committee when collecting opinions for the possibility of a Human Rights charter (something Rudd initiated) but it seems some prominent politicians, media personnel and mainstream church groups were not in favour of giving judges the right to decide on issues of human justice. Prejudice and discrimination are great tools for govt crowd control at election time.

Anyway good luck. You're not short on passion and tenacity.
Agnes

[agnes]

What about beginning with a NSW Charter of Human Rights and working up to a national level. Vic and Tas have a Charter.
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/20 ... -news.html
Maybe some support may develop...who knows

[agnes]

Do the Sheikh's sons as Aust. citizens have the right to know what their father has done? Are they able to seek compensation for the stigmatism attached to their father's undisclosed charges which causes them distress? Doesn't the govt have a right to ensure the civil liberties of the sons as Aust citizens?
Maybe this man knows the answers. http://www.michaelkirby.com.au/index.ph ... 1&Itemid=7

[fatherdave]

Thanks Agnes. I've contacted Mansour's sons and suggested that they take a look at this themselves.

[agnes]

I have only recently become aware of the Sheikh's situation and the call for Govt transparency regarding the charges that have caused him to be deported andI think the Aust Gov should seriously consider being transparent. Transparency and fair play often diffuses and prevents the development of hostility. I was pretty aware of some conservative opinions about same-sex unions but what I've seen on some Aust internet sites re Islamophobia far outweighs the homophobic rhetoric. I think for the sake of our nation the govt should be open about its findings. It would be an act of goodwill to all concerned. It may help lead to the greater development of mutual respect and appreciation of Australian cultural diversity and quell the rise of extremist subcultures.
I've sure had my head in the sand!

[agnes]

Dave
This looks right up your alley

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/electi ... 4,562157,2

[agnes]

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/electi ... 4,562157,2

[DH]

Hello father Dave, Maria, Agnes
I am enjoying reading your discussion on the forum. There are really good ideas
I agree that it is really important to keep the matter alive, and having a video conference with sheikh is good idea.
Also, I like the idea that sheikhs’ sons could have the right as Australian to know what their father had done. I think as well that his sons can ask for a trial to stop the damages caused personally to them by this accusation to their father.
Beside psychological effect, I believe any one in their place who had their father deported for being a “threat” would find it difficult to live in Australia and many other places. People will be so suspicious and find it hard to think that their father could be innocent. Sheikhs’ children could face problems; finding a job and not being accepted by employers and employees, to rent, to socialise, having threats from people..etc
I think we can ask to have this trial done to protect sheikhs’ children. I also think that if sheikh proven innocent they can ask the government to take responsibly for the damages that already had happened to them because of this mistake. I hope the lawyer could give us some guidance when he come back.

[agnes]

Hi Dave

I thought your speech addressing racism was commendable. I have problems with information being withheld from me, as an Australian citizen. For example regarding your friend the Sheikh, don't we as Australian citizens have the right to the disclosure of information that affects our national security? After all a government is a representative body of the people. If those who are deemed as threats to our community are charged or brought before the courts, then the public would have access to the court findings wouldn't they? What's wrong with truth?

[fatherdave]

a government is a representative body of the people.

If only your starting point were correct the rest would surely follow.

I've come to accept Noam Chomsky's conclusion: that governments exist to serve the substantial people in the community. The rest of us just have to be quietly tolerated.