Supporters rally against the deportation of black listed Muslim cleric sheik Mansour Leghaei | The Australian

as posted here ... Supporters rally against the deportation of black listed Muslim cleric sheik Mansour Leghaei | The Australian

HUNDREDS of protesters opposed to the government's decision to expel Iranian sheik Mansour Leghaei from Australia will rally in Canberra on Thursday ahead of the Muslim cleric's June 28 deportation

Dr Leghaei, cleric at the Shia Imam Husain Islamic Centre, at Earlwood in Sydney's inner west, has four weeks left in the country following Immigration Minister Chris Evans's decision not to overrule ASIO's adverse security assessment of him.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has told the federal government the deportation is a possible violation of Dr Leghaei's human rights, and has given it a June 21 deadline to respond to the claim.

ASIO alleges Dr Leghaei carried out "acts of foreign interference", but the spy agency is not required to reveal details of its allegations under laws governing national security.

Dr Leghaei, who has lived in Australia for the past 16 years, said despite events reaching the 11th hour, he was still hopeful the UN could instigate a reversal of the government's decision.



"The community doesn't really accept the decision and we are doing whatever we can do," Dr Leghaei said. "The rest is in the hands of God, really."