The release of former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar, who had been sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of Mongolian model Altantunya Shaariibuu, from an immigration detention centre in Australia has been confirmed by his lawyer William Levingston.
Levingston told the British newspaper The Guardian that Sirul was released after a High Court decision on Wednesday (Nov 8) among several others, but he could not be deported back to Malaysia.
Sirul, a former bodyguard of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had been held at the detention centre since his claim for asylum in Australia was rejected in 2019.
His lawyer stated that Sirul faces death by hanging in Malaysia for a murder conviction, and until the death penalty is abolished by the government, the Australian government cannot deport him due to non-refoulement obligations.
In July 2020, then-Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador had indicated that Sirul still cannot be extradited to Malaysia
He mentioned that Australian laws prohibit capital punishment in the country where an individual is being extradited to.
“The matter of Sirul was raised during my meeting with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) this morning,” said Abdul Hamid at a press conference in Bukit Aman on July 10, 2020
“It is still status quo as they will not extradite anyone to a country where the death penalty can be carried out on the individual,” he added at the time.
In 2019, there were reports that Sirul would be extradited back to Malaysia with the undertaking that his death penalty would not be carried out.
A spokesperson from the Australian Attorney General’s Department stated that the Attorney General must be satisfied that the death penalty will not be carried out before the person can be returned to the requesting country.
An Australian news portal reported that Sirul’s political asylum bid was rejected by a court on Feb 18, 2019.
