Nobel Laureates Criticize Australia Over Planned Deportation of Iranian Cleric

SYDNEY, June 1, 2010 - Nobel peace laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu has joined an international
human rights campaign condemning Australia's treatment of a moderate Iranian
cleric facing imminent deportation.

Sheikh Mansour Leghaei, a moderate Shia cleric, has been living
peacefully with his family in Australia for 16 years. He has never been
granted permanent residency due to two adverse security assessments made
against him by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
several years ago.

Contrary to the right to a fair hearing in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Australia is a signatory,
Australia has never informed Dr Leghaei of the nature of the allegations
against him. A leading proponent of interfaith dialogue and religious
tolerance in Sydney, Dr Leghaei strenuously denies he is a threat to
Australia's national security.

"In South Africa we used to have detention without trial. In Australia
you have deportation without trial," said Bishop Tutu.

In April the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
formally requested Australia not to deport Dr Leghaei while it considered
whether his human rights had been breached. On May 17 the Australian
Immigration Minister, Senator Chris Evans, ignored the UN's request and
announced that Dr Leghaei had six weeks to leave.

"The impending deportation of Sheikh Mansour Leghaei is a travesty of
justice. There is no doubt at all that his human rights have been violated,"
said Dr Chandra Muzaffar, a leading Malaysian political scientist, Islamic
reformist and activist.

A week after Amnesty International criticized the Australian Government
for putting political self-interest ahead of human rights in its treatment of
asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, international human rights
advocates have rallied behind Dr Leghaei, including:

    * Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, Bishop of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria
      and Lebanon.

    * Máiread Corrigan-Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

    * Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

    * Professor Hans Köchler, President of the International Progress
      Organization.

    * Dr Norman Finkelstein, American political scientist.

    * Bishop Desmond Tutu.

    * Bishop George Browning, retired Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn.

More than 1,000 of Dr Leghaei's interfaith supporters are preparing a
rally at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, June 3 at 12 pm AEST.

www.savethesheikh.com

    Media contacts:   Helen Signy
                      +61-425-202-654
                      helensigny@writemedia.com.au

                      Father Dave Smith
                      +61-409-620-009
                      dave@fatherdave.org

                      Ben Saul
                      +61-424-365-146
                      ben.saul@sydney.edu.au

Helen Signy, +61-425-202-654, helensigny at writemedia.com.au; or Father Dave Smith, +61-409-620-009, dave at fatherdave.org; or Ben Saul, +61-424-365-146, ben.saul at sydney.edu.au, all for Christian Save the Sheikh Coalition