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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Paul Karp Chief political correspondent

Sonya was told her rapist would ‘never be free’. Then a high court decision saw him released into the Brisbane community

Sonya Brisbane Immigration Andrew Giles Police United States
A closeup of a woman's hands
Sonya says her sexual assault ‘put [her] into a world of fear’, too frightened to do basic things like take an Uber. Photograph: Dougal Waters/Getty Images

When the man who raped Sonya at her work was released on parole, she was told he would “never be free in Australia” as he would be held indefinitely in immigration detention.

But on Saturday Queensland police called Sonya, telling her that her rapist, Mohammad Rafiq, would be released after the high court’s landmark decision last week that it is unlawful to hold those with no realistic prospect of deportation.

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