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Australian Court Dismisses Iranian Man's Appeal Against Deportation to Nauru
The court unanimously rejected the man's challenge to a deportation order issued last year. The Iranian national, convicted of murdering his wife, had argued that the move to Nauru was unlawful and punitive. Australia reached a deal last year to resettle certain noncitizens on the Pacific island nation for up to 30 years.
May 6, 9:20 AM·2m read1 source
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An Iranian man convicted of murdering his wife has lost his appeal against deportation from Australia to the Pacific island nation of Nauru. Seven judges dismissed the appeal unanimously against an order issued last year that would send the man, identified in court only as TCXM, to Nauru on a 30-year visa.
The country has a population of around 12,000 people. TCXM remains in Australia while arrangements for his removal are finalized, and the timing of his deportation is not yet known.
TCXM came to Australia from Iran in 1990 and received a protection visa in 1995. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 1999 for the murder of his wife. His visa was canceled and he was moved from prison to immigration detention in 2015, where he remained for eight years.
Iran does not accept the forced return of its citizens by other governments. Australia maintains a policy of not returning refugees to countries where they face a risk of persecution. TCXM was one of the first three noncitizens selected for resettlement in Nauru under a new bilateral agreement.
A 2023 court decision found that stateless people or those who could not be returned to their home countries could no longer be held indefinitely in Australian detention. More than 350 people, many of them convicted criminals including TCXM, were subsequently released into the community on temporary visas.
The test case that prompted the policy change was brought by a convicted child molester identified in court as NZYQ, a refugee from Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority. The government reached an agreement last year to pay Nauru 408 million Australian dollars, equivalent to 296 million U.S. dollars, for resettlements of up to 30 years.
