Former immigration detainee on fresh visa breach charges

A 37-year-old man who was released following the NZYQ High Court ruling has fronted court on fresh charges.

A former immigration detainee has been arrested and charged with breaching visa and bail conditions twice since being released following the NZYQ High Court ruling in November.

Deng Joseph Cinwel appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, accused of repeatedly failing to ring a mandatory Border Force reporting line.

“I keep forgetting, I don’t know, I have a short memory,” Cinwel, 37, told police upon his arrest earlier on Tuesday, the court heard. “Some of them were because of a broken phone. I don’t have an excuse for everything, it is my responsibility.”

Cinwel, who was born in South Sudan and migrated to Australia with his mother and siblings in 2006, appeared in person in court wearing a grey jumper. He heard the case against him through a Dinka interpreter translating to him via weblink.

Cinwel was one of the former immigration detainees released in the wake of the NZYQ High Court ruling in November 2023. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Tuesday was the second time Cinwel had been arrested on visa or bail breach charges since he was one of 149 people to be released from immigration detention in November last year.

On January 12th, Cinwel failed to adhere to the curfew specified as a condition of his bridging visa and was arrested, a police prosecutor told the court.

He was released on bail on January 16th, on the condition he abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs and submit to testing if requested.

Just one day later, Cinwel failed to fulfil the mandatory requirement of making a daily call to a border force reporting phoneline, police alleged.

He failed to call the reporting line on multiple subsequent occasions over a six week period. Each time the police spoke to Cinwel to remind him of his reporting obligations, he blamed lost or broken phones or said that he had simply forgotten.

Cinwel had been granted a global special humanitarian visa before his initial arrival in Australia, the court heard.

He was placed into immigration detention when that visa was cancelled in October 2017.

At least 26 former detainees have allegedly reoffended since being released following the November High Court ruling.

Opposition politicians, including leader Peter Dutton, have repeatedly called for Anthony Albanese to sack Immigration Minister Andrew Giles over his handling of the matter.

A spectacular bungle by Victoria Police caused further scrutiny for the government two days before Saturday’s crucial Dunkley by-election, won by Labor, when they mistakenly arrested and charged a different former detainee with sex offences. That man was released without charge a day later when police realised he had simply been in the vicinity of the alleged offending.

Man, 54, assisting police in alleged sex assault case following High Court ex-detainee bungle

The prosecution did not oppose Cinwel being bailed once again for his breaches due to his already strict visa conditions.

“We are of the view the risk is acceptable in the matter given the conditions the accused is under with respect to the bridging visa,” a prosecutor told the court, also noting Cinwell was unlikely to be jailed for long enough to warrant serving time if he were refused bail.

“The submission is that he’s unlikely to receive a term of imprisonment that outweighs any time he would spend in remand.”

Cinwel was bailed by Magistrate Andrew McKenna and asked to reappear to face both visa/bail breach charges in April.

Smuggle time: ‘there’s information from the Indonesia-East Timor border’