On Thursday, 10 July 2025, 61-year-old Maha Almassri - a Palestinian refugee from Gaza - was forcibly removed from her home in a pre-dawn raid by Australian authorities. Her bridging visa was cancelled shortly after by Immigration Minister Tony Burke, based on vague allegations that she posed a “direct or indirect threat to Australian society” and had “failed the character test.”

Maha has not been charged with any crime. She has not had the opportunity to see or challenge the allegations against her. She now remains detained in Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.

Maha Almassri is a grandmother who fled genocide and war in Gaza seeking safety. Instead, she has been met with secretive accusations, bureaucratic cruelty, and indefinite detention - all without public evidence, a fair process, or a right to respond. This heavy-handed action is a grave abuse of power and stands in stark contradiction to Australia’s professed values of fairness and due process.

We, the undersigned, stand united in saying:

• We condemn the arbitrary and secretive cancellation of Maha’s visa.
• We reject the use of undisclosed intelligence to justify punishing a vulnerable refugee.
• We will not be silent as Palestinians fleeing war are criminalised and disappeared into detention centres under the guise of “national security.”

This petition calls upon Minister Tony Burke to immediately use his ministerial discretion to:

• ✅ Release Maha Almassri from detention
• ✅ Reinstate her visa and her right to seek refuge in Australia
• ✅ Acknowledge that this injustice should never have taken place

Maha’s case is being watched closely - by the Australian public, by legal advocates, and by history. Minister Burke has the legal power and the moral obligation to correct this injustice.

Sign this petition to demand her release.

Let’s show that we do not stand for the quiet persecution of refugees.