November 14, 2023
Aliyawar Yawari is a violent sex predator with a record of attacking elderly women in their own homes so chilling a judge branded him "a danger to the Australian community".
One of his victims was bashed in the neck with a walking stick after being indecently assaulted.
But on Monday, as he embraced his sudden freedom, Yawari was the face of a federal government dilemma following a landmark High Court ruling that has released him and dozens of other criminals from long-term immigration detention.
Standing outside the modest Perth City Motel on the city's eastern outskirts, the 65-year-old said he was happy to be free but told reporters he had been jailed for "fighting" - giving little hint of the gravity of his crimes that saw him spend four years in prison and another five years in immigration.
Yawari had looked destined to be deported, but the High Court decision - overturning a 20-year precedent - has now changed that.
The Albanese government has left open the option of placing electronic ankle bracelets on more than 90 detainees being freed from immigration detention, and is considering a "legislative fix" following the High Court ruling that indefinite detention was illegal.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles confirmed 80 people had already been released on "appropriate" visa conditions as of Sunday night, with expectations 93 or more individuals will eventually be allowed to live in the community.
The reasons for their detention range from breaches of traffic offences to murder, with the Coalition warning they were "hardcore criminals" and complex cases. Government sources said none of the individuals in the cohort were subject to an adverse security assessment or were considered a national security risk.
Since his release, Yawari and others from WA's Yongah Hill detention centre have been holed up in humble rooms inside the motel, which has a barbed wire-topped fence, flaking lime-green paint, several abandoned shopping trolleys and a long line of one-star Google reviews.
It looks set to be Yawari's home for some time to come, as both he and the authorities figure out what to do next. Speaking outside the motel, Yawari said he was upset over his treatment, and now wanted to get back to work. "I just want a new job," he said.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus would not expand on the visa conditions for the released detainees as he faces calls from the opposition to expand the criminal code so control orders, continuing detention orders and extended supervision orders can apply to them and not just people who committed terrorism offences.
Labor sources said it was unclear if the government could take legislative action before the High Court provided reasons for its decision, after a majority of the bench agreed a stateless Rohingya man known as NZYQ had been detained unlawfully and his continued detention would be illegal.
"I don't want to speak for the individual visa conditions that are being contemplated in response to the particular circumstances for each of these visa holders, but I can assure the Australian community that the first priority of the government is to keep our community safe," Mr Dreyfus said.
"There will be appropriate visa conditions and the commonwealth government will be working with state and territory criminal justice agencies, who of course are primarily responsible for each of the people concerned." Mr Dreyfus said the government was "of course" contemplating a legislative fix.
Yawari had fled his home of Afghanistan after both his father and brother were killed by the Taliban. He eventually made it to Australia in 2010 and quickly found a job at a meatworks in Bordertown, South Australia. He proudly explained that he had never received Centrelink payments.
But he was convicted of multiple serious offences related to attacks on three women between October 2013 and December 2014.
Like many of those suddenly released, his ambitions are complicated by his criminal history and prolonged period out of work.
He also has to carry the physical ailments accumulated during his time in jail and detention: he has lost most of his teeth and walks with a pronounced limp. He carries in his wallet a passport photo taken before he first went to prison to remind him of who he was.
Yawari's wife and seven adult children are still living in Pakistan.
He said they were thrilled to hear he was free. "Oh, they are very happy," he said.
Mr Giles said the detainees, who have been placed on bridging visas, must report to the government if they change their personal details, address or social media profiles.
Government sources said there were bail-like conditions in place based on individual circumstances, including that they weren't allowed to commit crimes and must report to the government at a specified time and place, and there are restrictions on their employment.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson urged the government to look at the terrorism framework to control the individuals in the community.
"For example, control orders and continuing detention orders and extended supervision orders.
That's just one option. There are many others available to the government, but it doesn't seem like they were prepared," Senator Paterson said.
"I'm open-minded about electronic monitoring and any other method which gives the community confidence that these people are going to be monitored and that their behaviour is going to be controlled, and that they don't pose a risk to the community."
Yawari is far from the only person suddenly in limbo. Another man at the motel, who declined to be named, told how he had been sent to prison for six months after breaching a suspended sentence order imposed for multiple traffic and drink-driving offences.
The 33-year-old man, a Sudanese refugee who came to Australia in 2007, has spent the past six years since serving his six-month sentence in immigration detention. He said he had been told a ticket would be booked for him to return him to his family in Canberra.
"It's not bad. I'm just waiting to get out of here," he said of his new accommodation.
"They're saying they're going to book tickets for all of us. Some people are staying here, some people are going to Sydney." While the High Court decision could pave the way for the release of murderers and rapists who have served their full prison sentences, refugee advocate Gerry Georgatos said the
majority of cases involved lower-end offences involving a year or less in custody. Many had then spent several years in immigration detention.
While the majority of those being released had families in Australia to return to, Mr Georgatos said there was a "huge risk" of imminent homelessness for some of the detainees. At this stage, he said, there was no support on offer beyond a few weeks of support payments and accommodation.
Not all of those released would be allowed to work under the conditions of their visas, and those who were could struggle to find jobs because of their criminal history. Inside Yongah Hill detention centre, meanwhile, the remaining detainees are waiting to hear if and when they will be released. One, who asked not to be named, said some of those told they were free had said they were not yet ready to leave.
