‘If he’s guilty, I want him in jail’: Refugee on child porn charge
An MP says Border Force officers should have the power to seize detainees’ phones, after an asylum seeker living at a Brisbane detention facility was arrested for allegedly distributing child pornography. WATCH THE VIDEO OF HIS ARREST
Police & Courts
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Australian Border Force officers do not have the power to search for or seize mobile phones, even in an event where officer’s are aware they’re being misused or used for illegal purposes, the nation’s acting immigration Minister Alan Tudge has confirmed.
Mr Tudge said the ABF should be granted the legal powers to seize a detainees’ phone, following yesterday’s search and arrest of an asylum seeker, who has been living in the controversial Kangaroo Point facility for the last year.
“Labor and the protesters want this man in the community. If he’s guilty, I want him in jail,” Mr Tudge said.
“We have legislation before the parliament that would allow Australian Border Force officers to seize a detainees’ phone in exactly this circumstance, yet Labor and the Greens don’t support it.”
It is the second time LNP-proposed legislation to allow phone seizing powers to ABF has gone unsupported.
“If this doesn’t illustrate precisely why the Border Force needs these powers, then I don’t know what does,” Mr Tudge said.
“The Morrison Government will always put the safety of Australian’s first. Labor and the Greens must get on board and do the same.”
Thursday evening’s arrest of the Iranian national followed a search of the man’s room by Queensland Police officers, after suspicions were raised he was allegedly possessing and distributing the graphic child exploitation material.
Detectives seized the detainee’s electronic devices, which will undergo further analysis.
He was on Thursday night transported by ABF officers to the highly secure Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation near the Brisbane Airport, where he will reman until his day in court on September 18.
He faces two charges: One count of possessing child exploitation material, and one count of distributing child exploitation material.
The Courier-Mail understands the man came to Australia via boat in 2013, before he was transferred to Papua New Guinea.
It’s understood he was placed into the controversial Kangaroo Point facility mid last year, after he was transferred back to Queensland under Labor’s Medevac laws.
The Kangaroo Point facility has been the point of heated discussion in recent weeks, as the detention of asylum seekers has sparked mass protests across Brisbane’s CBD, while many have criticised the government’s handling of refugees throughout the COVID crisis.