Australian court rejects convicted murderer's appeal of deportation to small island nation

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Iranian man who murdered his wife has lost his landmark court bid to prevent Australia from deporting him to the tiny Pacific island of Nauru.

Seven High Court judges unanimously dismissed an appeal by the man against an order last year deporting him to the independent nation of around 12,000 people with a 30-year visa. The man is identified in court only as TCXM because refugees’ identities are protected in Australia.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke issued a statement applauded the ruling as a win for Australia's control over immigration.

“I welcome the decision of the court. A canceled visa must have consequences in our migration system,” said Burke, who had contested the man's appeal of the deportation order.

Australia last year agreed to pay Nauru 408 million Australian dollars ($296 million) for resettlements of up to 30 years for unwanted noncitizens who could not be deported to their homelands. Nauru also will receive an annual payment of AU$70 million ($51 million).

Eight men have been resettled in Nauru so far under the deal that has been criticized in Australia as being excessively expensive.

Nauru became the solution to a political problem for Australia’s government that was created by another High Court decision in 2023. The court found at the time that stateless people or people who could not be returned to their homelands could no longer be held indefinitely in Australian detention with little chance of a third country offering a home.

More than 350 people, many of them convicted criminals including TCXM, were released in Australia on temporary visas as a result of that ruling. The test case was brought by a convicted child molester, identified in court as NZYQ, who was a refugee and member of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

TCXM, who is now in his early 60s, came to Australia from Iran in 1990. He was given a protection visa in 1995 and then sentenced to 22 years in prison in 1999 for murdering his wife.

His visa was canceled and he was transferred in 2015 from prison to immigration detention where he remained for eight years. Iran does not accept the forced repatriation of its citizens by other governments. Australia has a policy of not returning refugees to countries where they risk persecution.

TCXM was one of the first three noncitizens chosen to be sent to Nauru under the new bilateral deal. His challenge was rejected by a federal court judge and the decision was upheld Wednesday by the highest court, ending his legal options. TCXM was allowed to stay in Australia while he fought his legal challenge and it’s not clear when he will be deported.

His grounds for appeal included that Nauru’s medical services were inadequate to treat his severe asthma.

He also argued Australia’s agreement with Nauru was unlawful and his deportation was punitive and therefore unconstitutional. Australia’s constitution says punishment must be dealt by courts and never by governments.

Australian governments previously paid Nauru and Papua New Guinea to house asylum seekers who attempted to reach Australia’s shore by boat in squalid detention camps.

The Australian policy of refusing to allow boat arrivals to settle has largely ended people smuggling from Southeast Asian ports in rickety fishing boats that had once thrived.