April 30, 2024
The alleged violent robbery and bashing of Perth grandmother Ninette Simons by a freed immigration detainee who previously breached his curfew has heaped pressure on Anthony Albanese to fast-track preventative detention orders and strengthen public safety.
Kuwaiti-born Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan, who appeared in court on Monday, was one of three men who allegedly assaulted the 73-year-old cancer patient and tied up her husband, Philip Simons, during a home invasion in Perth's north on April 16. The Australian understands the man - who received bail in February for breaching curfew orders - was bailed two days before the alleged attack last week over a range of serious offences.
Police on Monday alleged the trio allegedly gained entry to the Girrawheen home after telling the elderly couple they were police officers before allegedly pushing Mr Simons to the ground and punching his wife repeatedly in the face, leaving her unconscious.
"I thought I was dying ... I don't know how I survived this at my age," Ms Simons told Nine News.
Doukoshkan, one of 154 immigration detainees released into the community following the NZYQ High Court ruling in November last year, and the two men allegedly stole gold jewellery and other items worth more than $200,000, which the Simonses said constituted their life savings.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, tasked by the Prime Minister to keep the public safe, did not comment on the alleged bashing and robbery following Doukoshkan's appearance in court. Amid a vacuum of information from the government, sources told The Australian there were concerns around the bailing of a majority of detainees who have breached their curfews.
Doukoshkan, 43, was charged earlier this year with two counts of breaching curfew orders. He was granted bail at that time, with the magistrate reportedly warning him that he was "on very thin ice".
A 29-year-old Iranian-born man appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday over an alleged curfew breach.
It is understood Doukoshkan was one of the men whose visas were deemed invalid due to a "technical issue".
Due to the invalid visas, charges laid against 10 men over visas condition breaches were dropped. Since April 19, four men in Victoria and NSW have been charged with curfew breaches and failing to maintain a monitoring device. Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said "Australians will see the photos of Ninette's terribly bruised and bloodied face and think that could be my mother, that could be aunt, that could be my grandmother".
"They will want answers as to how this happened. And the sad reality is . the Albanese government has failed to give one clear answer on this issue since November," he said.
"When will Clare O'Neil and Andrew Giles front-up and take responsibility for this unholy mess? And if they won't, when will the Prime Minister finally show some leadership and sack both ministers.
"If they won't, when will the Prime Minister finally show some leadership and sack both ministers. Where is the preventative detention regime at? Where is the transparency around the hardened criminals and how many have breached the conditions on their release? Where are the facts around what crimes they have committed?"
Despite last month flagging the imminent release of a monthly Community Protection snapshot detailing visa conditions, including data on electronic monitoring and curfews, and updates on Community Protection Board assessments of detainees, the government is yet to produce its first report.
No preventative detention orders have been lodged by the government despite repeated assertions that legal work is advanced. It is understood some orders, which include individual psychological assessments, will be produced soon, but face further delays passing through court processes.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Ms O'Neil and Mr Giles "have failed Australians". "The assailant who allegedly bashed and robbed a 73-year-old grandmother and cancer survivor never would have been free in the community if the Albanese government used the powers the parliament gave them to protect Australians," Senator Paterson said. "They should front up and explain why they haven't made a single preventative detention application and if they can't they should resign or be sacked.
"Australians deserve better than this weakness and failure on community safety and national security."
An Australian Border Force spokesman said the Department of Home Affairs was "aware that an individual who holds a bridging Visa R was arrested. "The safety and security of the community remains the absolute priority for the Australian Border Force and Department of Home Affairs, and we will continue to work closely with our state and territory partners," the ABF spokeswoman said. "As the matter relates to a police investigation, which is now before the courts, it would not be appropriate to provide any further detail."
WA Police Detective-Inspector Gary Butler described the offending as "horrific and outrageous": "Life will never be the same for them (the elderly couple). They are still extremely traumatised, they haven't been home yet, they aren't eating." Doukoshkan was one of three men arrested over the weekend in relation to the incident. Police raided a home in Nollamara on Saturday, recovering handcuffs, a police badge, a police hat and several items of jewellery.
The 43-year-old is one of several former detainees to have been charged with offences subsequent to their release. Convicted child sex offender Emran Dad was refused bail earlier this year after allegedly engaging in "sexually charged" online chats with a 15-year-old girl on TikTok.
Aliyawar Yawari was arrested late last year and charged with two counts of indecent assault, but the charges were withdrawn earlier this month.
WA Liberal leader Libby Met-tam said Premier Roger Cook was at least partly to blame for the episode: "Roger Cook's response was to abdicate any responsibility, assure Western Australians that the detainees were going east, and that those who were left in Western Australia would be closely monitored by police."
