Current:Home > ScamsChinese refugee challenges Australian law that imposes a curfew and tracking bracelet-LoTradeCoin
Chinese refugee challenges Australian law that imposes a curfew and tracking bracelet
View Date:2024-12-23 18:54:14
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Lawyers for a Chinese refugee claim the tough new measures rushed through Australia’s Parliament to mandate curfews and electronic tracking bracelets on some foreigners with criminal records are unconstitutional, challenging them in the High Court.
The man, identified in court documents seen by The Associated Press on Thursday as S151, is one of at least 93 migrants who have been freed in the two weeks since the High Court ruled their indefinite detention in prison-like facilities for foreigners without visas was unconstitutional.
S151 was placed in indefinite detention in 2022 after serving a five-year prison sentence for a crime that was not specified in court documents. Australia accepted in June that S151 fits the definition of a refugee, but refused him a visa. That meant at the time that he could not be deported to China and could not be released in Australia, leaving indefinite detention in a migration facility. But after Parliament passed a raft of emergency laws on Nov. 16, the man was ordered to observe a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and wear an electronic ankle bracelet to track his movements at all times, his lawyers wrote in their challenge.
His lawyers filed an application Wednesday in Australia’s highest court asking for the new laws to be declared invalid. The court challenge is the first of what could be several, creating a new complication for a government dealing with community fears over convicts being freed because they can’t be deported.
For almost two decades until the Nov. 8 decision, governments were allowed to keep migrants detained indefinitely if they could not be returned to their homelands. These include refugees and stateless people whom no third country would resettle, usually because of criminal records.
S151, who arrived in Australia on a student visa in 2001, was released from indefinite detention on Nov. 11.
“The imposition of a curfew and mandatory electronic tracking significantly restricts the plaintiff’s liberty, privacy and autonomy,” the lawyers wrote. They argue that the conditions are punitive and breach a constitutional requirement that any punitive measure must be the result of a judicial process, not political.
The government declined to comment Thursday on the legal challenge while it was being considered by the court.
University of New South Wales constitutional lawyer George Williams said there was a potential for more migrants to challenge the new laws that were introduced to Parliament, amended and passed within a few hours.
“It may be reasonable to impose ankle bracelets and the like on some people but not others,” Williams said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if other people come forward, particularly when you’ve got rushed legislation … because there hasn’t been much of an opportunity to get it right.”
Adding to the legal uncertainty, it could be months before the High Court publishes its reasons for outlawing indefinite detention. Decisions are usually announced around three months after a hearing ends, but in the detention case the decision was immediate, apparently catching the government off guard.
The High Court could potentially set an urgent hearing date in the final weeks of the year.
veryGood! (4561)
Related
- Ready-to-eat meat, poultry recalled over listeria risk: See list of affected products
- Maritime terminal prepares for influx of redirected ships as the Baltimore bridge cleanup continues
- Did Texas 'go too far' with SB4 border bill? Appeals court weighs case; injunction holds.
- Palestinian American doctor explains why he walked out of meeting with Biden and Harris
- The Daily Money: Markets react to Election 2024
- Earthquake in Taiwan blamed for at least 9 deaths as buildings and roads seriously damaged
- Beyoncé sends flowers to White Stripes' Jack White for inspiring her on 'Cowboy Carter'
- The Nail Salon Is Expensive: These Press-On Nails Cost Less Than a Manicure
- NASCAR Championship race live updates, how to watch: Cup title on the line at Phoenix
- Earthquake in Taiwan blamed for at least 9 deaths as buildings and roads seriously damaged
Ranking
- DWTS' Gleb Savchenko Shares Why He Ended Brooks Nader Romance Through Text Message
- Makeup You Can Sleep in That Actually Improves Your Skin? Yes, That’s a Thing and It’s 45% Off
- Total solar eclipse forecast: Will your city have clear skies Monday?
- Total solar eclipse forecast: Will your city have clear skies Monday?
- Cold case arrest: Florida man being held in decades-old Massachusetts double murder
- Shohei Ohtani homers for the first time as a Dodger, gets ball back from fan
- Alabama lottery, casino legislation heads to conference committee
- 'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson reveals sexual assault by 'famous' photographer: 'Left some scars'
Recommendation
-
Katherine Schwarzenegger Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Pratt
-
Katie Holmes, Jim Parsons and Zoey Deutch to star in 'Our Town' Broadway revival
-
Review: Andrew Scott is talented, but 'Ripley' remake is a vacuous flop
-
UConn men's team arrives in Phoenix after flight to Final Four delayed by plane issues
-
California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert
-
After voters reject tax measure, Chiefs and Royals look toward future, whether in KC or elsewhere
-
North Carolina State in the women's Final Four: Here's their national championship history
-
WWE WrestleMania 40 details: Time, how to watch, match card and more