Australia to pass law stripping citizenship from suspected terroristsMay 26, 2015 - 09:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Australia plans to pass a law within weeks to give the government power to strip citizenship from dual nationals who are suspected terrorists even if they are not convicted of a crime, the Prime Minister said Tuesday, May 26, according to the Associated Press. More than 100 Australians are suspected to be fighting with the Islamic State movement and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Up to 50 percent of those fighters were estimated to be dual citizens, Tony Abbott said. The amendments to the Citizenship Act would allow Islamic State supporters both overseas and at home to be treated the same as Australians who join foreign armies at war against Australia, Abbott said. The Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would have the discretion to revoke Australian citizenship from dual nationals suspected of terrorism, even if they had been not been convicted of any offense, Abbott said. The decision would be subject to judicial appeal. "There should be no difference in how we treat Australians who join a hostile army and those engaged in terrorism — both are betraying our country and don't deserve to be citizens of Australia," Abbott said in a statement, according to the AP. The amendment would bring Australian citizenship laws closer to those the United States, Canada, France and Britain, he said. No one was to be left stateless by losing their Australian citizenship. Australia has the third largest proportion of overseas-born residents of any country, following only Israel and Luxembourg, the government said. Islamic State militants have had conspicuous success in recruiting in Australia, which has 24 million people, although the majority are Christian while 2 percent are Muslim. The London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence estimates that between 100 and 250 Australians have joined Sunni militants fighting in Iraq and Syria. The center estimates only 100 U.S. fighters have arrived from an American population more than 13 times larger. Counterterrorism units were posted at Australian airports after a terror alert was raised in September. The government said last week that 288 passengers had been prevented from leaving Australia on security grounds since then. Photo: aww.com Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children Moscow slams EU mission in Armenia for “provocative activity” The EU mission is doing more and more against Armenia’s neighbors Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, Mikhail Galuzin said. Yerevan Mayor to travel to Paris on May 15-19 The official delegation headed by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan will travel to Paris from May 15 to 19. Armenia, India hold first defense consultations The meeting was attended by Indian Ambassador Nilakshi Saha Sinha and Defense Attaché Brigadier General Naveen Nijhawan. |