ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar, 51, who was sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu has been released from an immigration detention centre in Australia.
This was confirmed by his lawyer William Levingston to British newspaper The Guardian.
He said Sirul has been released among dozens of people after a High Court decision on November 8, but could not be deported back to Malaysia.
Sirul, who was a bodyguard of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, has been forced to remain in the detention centre since his claim for asylum in Australia was rejected in 2019.
Levingston said his client faces death by hanging in Malaysia for a murder conviction, and until the death penalty is abolished by the Malaysian government, the Australian government would not be able to deport Sirul due to non-refoulement obligations.
The Daily Mail reported that Sirul was freed from Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney on Saturday, and is now understood to be staying with a relative in Canberra.
Sirul, a former commando, fled to Australia and sought asylum while on release pending an appeal.
Altantuya was 28 when she was shot and her body blown up with explosives in a gruesome murder in 2006 by Sirul and fellow commando Azilah Hadri, who was also part of Najib’s security detail. Both men were convicted of her murder.
Najib has consistently denied links to her death, while Azilah is currently on death row.
