Boat refugee’s stunning defence as he faces deportation for trying to import 10kg of methamphetamine

EXCLUSIVE 

A refugee has argued he shouldn’t be sent home because of his ‘queer identity’, after he was caught trying to smuggle more than 10kg of methamphetamine into Australia.

The man is now facing deportation after then Minister of Immigration Andrew Giles cancelled his visa and the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) refused to revoke the decision. 

The 33-year-old is serving a jail sentence of four years and nine months for his attempted drug trafficking. 

It comes after, 10 years ago, Australia offered him a new life when he arrived by boat at the age of 20. 

He spent a year in a detention centre in South Australia and then moved to Sydney, according to court documents. He was granted a Safe Haven Enterprise visa (SHEV) allowing him to remain in the country.

Initially he thrived, meeting a female partner – a fellow refugee – with whom he has a three-year-old son who is an Australian citizen. The couple bought a home while he worked as a security guard, an Uber driver and then a carpenter.

But in 2019 he suffered a workplace injury to his back and had to stop work. 

He became addicted to pain medication and started using heroin. 

In October 2023 he was caught in a police sting and convicted of trying to bring 10.21 kg of methamphetamine into Australia, with a street value of about $10million – in what he said was a desperate act to help his family.

During sentencing however, he took no accountability for the offending, saying ‘Not responsible not my drugs (sic)’. 

He was jailed, and in June 2024, Mr Giles carried out the mandatory cancellation of his visa. 

But the man challenged Mr Giles’ decision in the ART, and last month he was transported from prison to attend the Sydney hearing in person. 

His evidence included that he regretted his offending and he needed to support his son, who had autism, and his partner, who suffered from depression, anxiety and obesity. 

The ART noted that the man said he was fearful of returning to Iran because of his ‘queer identity’, and he would be in danger if he went back. 

He originally fled Iran because he had a relationship with a man whose mother reported them to the police. He believed if he returned he would be tortured, or even killed, by the Iranian authorities.  

In a decision on Monday, the ART ruled that he did not pass the character test under the Migration Act. 

Weighing the guidance of Ministerial Direction 110, the controversial legacy of Mr Giles, the ART could not find any other reason to revoke the visa cancellation. 

It found that the ‘protection of the Australian community and the expectations of the Australian community’ outweighed the interests of the man’s partner and child.  

The decision will hamper the man’s ability to secure another visa, and he may be deported in future. 

A previous protection order means he cannot be removed to Iran, but only to a ‘safe third country’, the decision said.