KUALA LUMPUR: Former police officer Sirul Azhar Umar, recently released from immigration detention in Australia, may face re-incarceration following a High Court ruling akin to measures for dealing with terrorists, being pondered by the Australian government.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, two anonymous sources disclosed that the government sought legal advice to potentially apply preventive detention laws to re-incarcerate non-citizens, including Sirul, previously convicted of serious crimes like rape and murder after their release from jail.
Sirul, who was convicted in the 2006 murder case of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, might face re-incarceration due to this potential legal move.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday had avoided addressing whether the government was contemplating preventive detention measures.
He stressed the significance of reviewing the detailed court explanation for a historic judgement that significantly altered decades-long immigration detention policies.
Anthony stated on Sky News "We are doing all that we need to do, everything within our power, to keep people safe. That's our first, second and third priority."
It was previously reported that the former police officer was released from the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney, Australia on Nov 11.
Sirul was released from nine years of immigration custody beginning 2015.
This followed an Australian High Court ruling on Nov 8, which determined that non-citizen detainees, unable to be deported, cannot be held indefinitely by immigration authorities.
Post this decision, 92 individuals, mostly refugees, along with others convicted of violent crimes were released under specific conditions and permitted to remain in Australia.