American anti-abortion activist Troy Newman lost a legal bid to stay in Australia after arriving on Thursday without a visa.
His visa had been cancelled before he left the United States by Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Mr Newman, who is president of Operation Rescue in the US, had planned a 10-day speaking tour in Australia.
The visa cancellation came after Labor MP Terri Butler wrote to Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton stating that Mr Newman could “cause significant harm to our community”.
Ms Butler focussed on comments in the book “Their Blood Cries Out”, which was co-authored by Newman.
She pointed to this passage: “In addition to our personal guilt in abortion, the United States government has abrogated its responsibility to properly deal with the blood-guilty. This responsibility rightly involves executing convicted murderers, including abortionists, for their crimes in order to expunge bloodguilt from the land and people.”
Australian border force officers detained Mr Newman when he arrived in Melbourne from Los Angeles.
He was held in a detention centre.
His bid to stay in Australia was rejected at the High Court in Melbourne on Friday and on Saturday it was confirmed that he had left the country.
Evidence was produced to show that he knew his visa had been revoked before leaving the US.
Ahead of his arrival in Melbourne, Mr Newman said in a Facebook post that the decision to revoke his visa “was based on a pile of lies, including the idea that I promote violence”.
“My 25-year history of peaceful, prayerful action speaks for itself,” he said.
Operation Rescue insisted on its website that he “has never advocated violence and in fact, urges pro-life activists to work within the governmental and legal system to accomplish change”.
Mr Newman had an order of costs made against him.
An investigation has been ordered into how Mr Newman managed to board a flight to Australia without a valid visa.
Sources