Iranian asylum seeker Mojgan Shamsalipoor was sent back to detention at Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation last year when the Department of Immigration found that she did not qualify as a refugee.
Mojgan was a student at Brisbane’s Yeronga State High School and about to finish Year 12 when the decision was made. The community has started a year-long campaign to overturn the decision, and the ABC is running her story tonight on Australian Story.
Mojgan fled Iran due to rape and domestic violence by her family members, and she was forced to be a child bride to a 60-year-old man.
She met her future husband, Milad Jafari a couple of years ago at community detention in Brisbane.
Milad, who was attending Yeronga State High School, spoke to the school principal and asked if Mojgan could attend the high school too.
“Milad came to see me and said, ‘Miss I’ve got this friend, can she come to our high school?'” Ms Walker told ABC.
“When I met Mojgan I felt she’d be a really good fit for our school. I could see she was very committed to education.”
Mojgan thrived at the school and aspired to study midwifery at university. She was engaged to Milad soon after starting to attend the school, and the pair got married two years later.
The school has been campaigning actively for her release from detention, particularly given the fact that she had left out elements of her story when applying for her protection visa – including her rape and sexual abuse.
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has revealed that despite the campaigning efforts, Mr Dutton is standing by the decision.
According to their statement to Australian Story, the decision “has been affirmed by the Refugee Review Tribunal and in a subsequent judicial review in the Federal Court”.
“Once these legal options have been exhausted and the courts have ruled an individual is not owed protection, the person is expected to leave the country,” they said.
You can watch the full story on Australian Story tonight at 8pm on ABC. Watch the preview here:
