Violent Iraqi gang member could be allowed to stay in Australia because Labor leader Anthony Albanese is fighting his deportation despite his VERY long criminal record
- Norman Mansour, 28, is an ex-gang member who was locked up for five years
- He is also an an Assyrian Christian who fled from Iraq to Australia back in 1997
- In 2015, Mansour's visa was cancelled due to his extensive criminal history
- Mansour's fiancée asked Labor leader Anthony Albanese to help her partner stay
- Mr Albanese has asked the government to help find a 'solution' for Mansour
- The matter is expected to be referred to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton
An Iraqi former gang member with a long criminal record could be allowed to stay in Australia because the leader of the Labor party is fighting against his deportation.
Norman Mansour, 28, is an Assyrian Christian who was born in Iraq but fled religious persecution in the war-torn country when he was seven years-old in 1997.
Due to his extensive criminal history, Mansour was jailed for five years and released from custody in 2016, by which time his visa was cancelled.
He is now waiting in the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, as officials decide whether to expel him from the country.
Now, Labor leader Anthony Albanese has asked the government to create a 'solution' for Mansour after his fiancée Remee Murdocca requested for him to stay in Australia.
Norman Mansour, 28, (pictured, left) and his fiancée Remee Murdocca, 24 (right) who is begging the government not to deport him despite an extensive criminal history
When Mansour arrived in Australia as a child in 1997, he was allowed to stay under the Refugee Convention.
But he went on to be involved in several violent incidents and racked up four criminal convictions.
These are two counts of recklessly wounding others while in company, one count of attempted aggravated break and enter with a dangerous weapon and another count of use of an unauthorised prohibited firearm.
Even his own fiancée admitted he had been a gang member, but she insisted he had turned his life around.
His visa had been cancelled due to his criminal record under section 501 of the Immigration Act in 2015, so he was placed in immigration detention in Villawood.
Despite his gang links, Mr Albanese wrote to Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge on April 14, pleading with him to stop Mansour's deportation.
The opposition leader's spokesman confirmed Mansour's fiancée had reached out to the MP for assistance.
Ms Murdocca reached out to Labor Leader Anthony Albanese (pictured), who is campaigning the government to find a 'solution' to let Mansour stay in the country
'(Mansour) arrived in Australia from Iraq in 1997 and was issued with a humanitarian visa which was subsequently revoked under section 501 of the Migration Act on 11 September, 2016,' Mr Albanese wrote, according to The Australian.
'(On October 3), the Administrative Appeals Tribunal assessed him to not be a threat risk. The decision was clear and decisive.
'On the 5th of March, 2019, the matter was referred to the VACCU (Visa Applicant Character Consideration Unit) where a decision is yet to be made. I seek your assistance in finding a solution for this man.'
His spokesman explained: 'He did so as a result of an approach from Mr Mansour's fiancee, who lived in the electorate of Grayndler. It is not unusual for a member of parliament to make such enquiries to ministers on behalf of people in their electorate.'
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal found that Mansour had made efforts to rehabilitate himself and posed no threat to the community in October 2018.
The 28-year-old's case is now with the Visa Applicant Character Consideration Unit but is expected to be referred to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
Mansour is currently in custody at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre (pictured). He is waiting for a a government decision on whether he will be expelled from the country
Mansour's fiancée Ms Murdocca, 24, has started a change.org petition to keep her partner in the country, which has garnered more than 2,000 signatures.
'Norman is an ex gang member to which he has no involvement with for the past five years,' Ms Murdocca wrote.
'All he wants to do now is start a family, be a father that he never had, be a good Australian citizen and to prove everyone wrong that has judged him.'
Ms Murdocca said that Norman will face persecution if he is deported back to Iraq and should not also face persecution in Australia.
'No one should face fear of persecution and being removed from a country where they have grown up and spent their whole life in. Australia is Norman’s home and this is where he belongs,' she wrote.
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