A spokeswoman for the opposition leader said her office would need to take the government's advice on Tahami before responding. “Until we see it, we can't comment on a person's case and the circumstances surrounding it,” he said.
The government has been under pressure over immigration policy since the High Court ruled in November that people could not be held in immigration detention indefinitely if there was no chance of them being deported in the foreseeable future, prompting officials to release 153 people.
Ninette Simons, victim of a home invasion.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has referred the decisions to a new advisory group, the Community Protection Board, and his staff have said decisions must be made “at a distance” from the minister.
But Emergency Services Minister Murray Watt said on Saturday that government ministers were taking responsibility for their response to the High Court decision and that meant Dutton would have to do the same for the decisions in turn
“What we haven't seen from Peter Dutton is that he even takes any responsibility for the decisions that happened while he was Home Secretary,” Mr Watt said in Perth on Saturday.
“It's time Mr Dutton was held to the same standard.”
The release of Tahami under a coalition government and Doukoshkan under a Labor government heightens the public policy debate about detainees who commit crimes after being released, turning their cases into matters of public concern. Both arrived in Australia during a surge in asylum seekers when Labor was in government.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Doukoshkan, 43, was born in Kuwait and holds Iranian nationality. He arrived in Australia by boat in 2011 and was convicted in 2017 of attempting to sell or supply drugs, which resulted in a prison sentence. Upon his release, he was transferred to immigration detention. He was one of the 153 people released after the Court's ruling.
Tahami, 38, was born in Iran and was released from detention several years before the High Court ruling. He arrived in Australia by boat in November 2011 and was granted a protection visa in December 2012. He was charged with intent to sell and supply methamphetamine several years later and served time in prison before being transferred to immigration detention.
The coalition government released Tahami from detention on 12 January 2020, without giving any public reason for the move. This header has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Home Office to access documents explaining why he was released.
Dutton was the Home Affairs Minister when Tahami was released. The acting immigration minister was Alan Tudge, who held the post while former immigration minister David Coleman was on leave.
Home Office records show that a ministerial delegate made the decision, meaning it did not have to be personally signed or approved by Dutton or Tudge.
But the Coalition's immigration spokesman Dan Tehan argued on Friday that Immigration Minister Andrew Giles should “own” officials' decisions about released detainees.
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“The minister is doing everything he can to hide behind bodies and decision-makers instead of facing up and owning those decisions,” Tehan said.
Dutton has called on federal ministers to take responsibility for decisions related to the alleged assault of Simons, who suffered serious injuries that were shown in graphic images to the national media.
“The minister has the responsibility here. The first job of our country's prime minister is to keep people safe, not put them in danger, and that's what happened to Ninette,” he said on May 3.
“If the minister doesn't have responsibilities here, I don't know who does.”
Authorities tried to deport both Doukoshkan and Tahami because of their criminal convictions, but Iran does not accept people who are being returned to the country against their will. In a separate case, an Iranian asylum seeker known as ASF17 lost an appeal to the High Court on Friday after he applied to be released from detention. The government argued that he had refused to cooperate with their attempts to deport him.
Perth Magistrates Court records show Tahami was charged with further offenses in the months following his release in early 2020, including a charge of possession of methamphetamine in July of that year. He was fined $1,000 for this offense.
Tahami was charged with possession of cannabis in January 2021 and again in May of that year, as well as in October 2023. In February 2023 he was charged with carrying an article with intent to cause fear, and the following month he was charged with driving. under the influence of illegal drugs and without authorization to drive. He was fined for these crimes.
Tahami is due to face Joondalup Courthouse on June 10 on charges related to the alleged robbery of Simons and her husband, Philip. Others facing charges in the alleged home invasion are Doukoshkan and former boxer Joel Leslie Painter.
