Mohammed Sagar - ASIO Security Assessment

ASIO Security Assessment

While on Nauru, Sagar was interviewed by officers from the ASIO. In August 2005, Sagar and another Iraqi refugee, Muhammad Faisal, were notified that they had been assessed to represent a "risk to Australia's national security" and therefore would not be permitted to settle in Australia. Neither Faisal nor Sagar were informed of the reasons for the adverse assessment.

ASIO's adverse assessments effectively exposed Sagar and Faisal to the prospect of indefinite detention on Nauru, despite the Australian Government's recognition that their fears of persecution if returned to Iraq were genuine. The adverse assessments also undermined attempts by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to secure asylum for Sagar and Faisal in a country other than Australia.

While in detention, Sagar set up a website, Refugees Left on Nauru, on which he posted photographs of the almost deserted refugee camp and described the psychological challenges faced by the last two refugees remaining on the island:

There might be people who are not aware of the real meaning of the word "detention." It simply means that you do not own your life any more, or in other words, you can't feel alive any more. Especially when you are held in the same situation for a long time with no signs of any changes that might happen in the near future.

In September 2006, Faisal became suicidal and was evacuated to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia, where he was able to apply directly for asylum to the Australian Government. This triggered a second ASIO security assessment, which found that Faisal did not present a risk to national security. In early 2007 Faisal was granted a permanent visa and allowed to stay in Australia. Sagar's adverse security assessment, however, remains intact.