Sirul Azhar Umar said he faced the “very real prospect” of execution if he were to be deported to Malaysia from Australia.
He had applied for a visa to allow him to be released into the Australian community, according to The Australian newspaper.
It reported that lawyers for Sirul Azhar made the appeal in response to a formal notice from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection that it was poised to refuse their client’s application for a Complementary Protection Visa.
The reason for the possible rejection of the protection visa was that he had committed a “serious non-political crime” before entering Australia.
The Australian report said his lawyers had provided extra information to help his case, including evidence to support a previous claim that he had been made a political scapegoat.
Sirul Azhar and his superior, former chief inspector Azilah Hadri, were jointly charged with killing the Mongolian model and mother of two on Oct 18, 2008.
Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, an aide to then deputy prime minister Najib Razak,was charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul Azhar. However, he was acquitted by the High Court on October 31, 2008. The prosecution did not appeal against his acquittal.
The Shah Alam High Court, in 2009, found Sirul Azhar and Azilah guilty of murdering Altantuya and sentenced them to death by hanging. However, the Court of Appeal, on Aug 23, 2013, freed them, causing the government to take the case to the Federal Court.
On Jan 13, 2015, the Federal Court ruled that the High Court in 2009 had not erred in its verdict in sentencing both men to death for the murder of Altantuya in 2006. Only Azilah was present to hear the verdict.
Days later, The Australian report said, Sirul Azhar was detained by Australian immigration authorities for having overstayed his visa.
Although there is an extradition treaty between both countries, Australia does not support the death penalty and turned down a request to extradite Sirul.
The former elite bodyguard for Malaysia’s most senior politicians, including Najib, said during his trial that he was a “black sheep sacrificed to protect unnamed people”.
On Feb 17, 2015, Sirul had been quoted as saying that he was under orders to kill Altantuya, and that the “real” murderers were still wild and free.
“I was under orders. The important people with motive are still free,” Sirul Azhar had said.
This further fed rumours of very important politicians being behind the murder of Altantuya.
However, in January 2016, in a video clip uploaded onto YouTube, Sirul Azhar said Najib was not involved in the murder of Altantuya.
Under Australian law, the government is obliged to grant a protection visa if a person faces serious human rights violations, or where a person faces real risk of being arbitrarily deprived of their life.
The Australian newspaper said the act provided exemption clauses, rendering an applicant ineligible for protection visa if they committed a war crime or crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime before entering Australia, or were considered a danger to the Australian community.
Also, Australia won’t deport a fugitive who faces execution upon their return.