PRESS RELEASE MINISTER DELAYS PROTECTION APPLICATION DECISION FOR SAYED ABDELLATIF Sayed Abdellatif, the Egyptian asylum seeker who was at the centre of a political storm last year after being wrongly accused of murder, is still waiting for Minister Scott Morrison to allow him and his family to apply for protection. “A submission regarding Sayed has been sent by the Immigration Department to the Minister, but the Minister has not made a decision. Meanwhile Sayed and his family remain in limbo with detention taking a terrible toll on the mental health of the whole family,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. Sayed, his wife and X children have been in detention since they arrived at Christmas Island in May 2012. Sayed has been cruelly separated from his wife and family since they were sent from Inverbrackie to Villawood in April 2013 - over 11 months ago. It is very clear that Egypt is not safe. The military has killed and arbitrarily arrested hundreds of those considered to be political enemies. The current military regime recently arrested Al Jazeera journalists, including an Australian, Peter Greste. The trumped-up charges against Greste and the other journalists – including being in possession of publications of the Muslim Brotherhood, now declared to be a terrorist organisation - are strikingly similar to those levelled against Sayed. “The military has a history of use using false Interpol Red Notices and fabricating charges against people considered to be political opponents. There is more than enough evidence to show that the charges against Sayed were fabricated by the military prosecutors under the Mubarak regime. It’s nine months since the problems of the Egyptian Red Notice were revealed and the murder and terrorist charges were dropped from the notice. There is no justifiable reason for separating the family, keeping them in detention at all or delaying a decision to allow them to apply for protection. The Minister has the department’s submission. Sayed and his family need a decision now,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. Sayed is not the only person in detention suffering inexcusable delays. There are at least three other cases of people waiting over a year for Ministerial decisions. For more information contact Ian Rintoul mob 0417 275 713
Posted on: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 12:17:45 +0000
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