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Dutton transfers suspected drug trafficker to Christmas Island ahead of trial
By Chris Vedelago and Nino Bucci
Australian Border Force officials have secretly transported an Iraqi man to the Christmas Island detention centre despite a Melbourne magistrate granting the man bail while he awaits trial on drugs charges.
The man, who has lived in Australia on a humanitarian visa since 1998, was reporting to police as part of his bail conditions when he was detained by officers from Australia's new paramilitary immigration agency. His family and lawyer were not told he had been taken to the offshore camp.
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Credit: GDI
The move has prompted concern by Australia's top human rights official, Gillian Triggs, and other legal experts that the Abbott Government's new policy could be circumventing due process and the right to a fair trial.
The Sunday Age understands it may be the first time the government has used sweeping new immigration powers to detain a non-citizen on Christmas Island while they are awaiting trial.
Immigration and law enforcement authorities have refused to explain why the man was taken to the island in the Indian Ocean shortly before he was due to appear at multiple court hearings in Melbourne.
The former Shiite Iraqi refugee, who has a lengthy criminal record in Australia and extensive connections in Melbourne's underworld, was on bail and could face a committal hearing over his alleged involvement in a $6 million heroin and ecstasy importation ring.
The 31-year-old was taken into custody after Federal Police called in Australian Border Force officials. The Melbourne-based Magistrate hearing his case rejected a bid by the Australian Federal Police to have his bail revoked.
The man's defence solicitor had successfully argued he posed no risk of offending and should be released from remand so he could care for his wife and young child.
His family was reportedly distraught after he failed to return because the man had been subject to underworld threats. A close relative of the man was gunned down in an execution-style murder earlier this year.
He was detained on the same day Fairfax Media published details of telephone intercepts from an unrelated court matter that authorities believe included a coded message to collect a debt and possibly maim or kill someone on behalf of a jailed outlaw bikie.
The decision to incarcerate the man on Christmas Island comes after Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton was given the power in December to unilaterally deport suspected and convicted criminals following sweeping changes to the Migration Act.
Minister Dutton and his newly formed paramilitary agency, the Australian Border Force, have used the powers to detain 366 people in the past eight months.
In May, he announced the high-security Christmas Island facility would be used to house criminals who were "on a pathway to exiting our country".
A Department of Immigration and Border Protection spokeswoman declined to comment on how many detainees suspected or convicted of criminal activity were being held on Christmas Island.
Legal experts have warned they could remain on the island indefinitely – regardless of the outcome of a trial on the mainland – as their countries of origin may not agree to repatriate them if they have been convicted of serious criminal offences.
Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs said it was ironic that people imprisoned in Australia after being convicted of a criminal offence were likely to be held in better conditions than those who were yet to face trial after having their visas cancelled.
While she declined to comment on the man's case, she said the commission had "significant concerns" about people detained offshore receiving proper access to legal services and the potential delays they could face coming to trial.
"If you were held in a prison, you'd be better off," Professor Triggs said. "We really need greater clarity about this, and what it means for people who are on trial, and those who may be held indefinitely."
She said the commission also had grave concerns about criminals being held in the same centres as women and children who were waiting to have their claims for refugee status assessed.
Greg Barns, spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said Minister Dutton was "playing judge" with his new powers and there was no legitimate reason why a detainee could not be housed on the mainland.
"I can think of no other reason he would do it other than to be vindictive," he said. "How is an offender expected to be able to instruct his lawyer or participate in their defence from Christmas Island?"