Mark Middleton’s deportation a Human Rights violation

19th April 2018

The lawyer of pending deportee, Mark Middleton, says Immigration NZ’s deportation notice is a violation of Human Rights.

Mark Middleton’s lawyer Keith Jefferies said today “We have repeatedly asked the Department of Immigration for Mark’s immigration status when he first came here in 1962. It is everyone’s right to be given any information that a government department holds on them but for some reason they refuse. What are they hiding” says Mr Jefferies?

The Sensible Sentencing Trust has started a petition to stop Mark’s deportation and is calling for all hard-working New Zealanders to sign it here.

Stepdaughter to murdered Hastings teen Karla Cardno, Mark was shocked, along with the rest of New Zealand when the full heavily censored details of exactly what Paul Joseph Dally had done to 14-year-old Karla prior to bashing her head in and burying her alive. Mr Middleton knew the full story, and nine years later, in a TV interview, he made threats of serious violence against Dally if he gained parole. Now the authorities wish to deport Middleton because, after coming here as a child in 1962, he supposedly never became a citizen.

“This looks like an outrageous witch hunt of a man whose only crime so far has been to say things which any half decent father would think, if not say, when a child of theirs was brutally murdered” said Sensible Sentencing Youth Spokesperson, Jess McVicar today.

“What Dally did to Mark’s clearly much-loved step daughter was almost beyond belief, and any father could understand his fury at the suffering she went through at this mongrel’s hands. But Mark’s threats were made almost twenty years ago, threats for which he was punished at the time – some would say severely or even unjustly punished” McVicar said.

“Mr Middleton first came to the attention of the Immigration authorities more than 30 years ago, when he left New Zealand for an overseas holiday in 1987. He came to their attention again 17 years ago when he made the threats against Dally on TV. Why wait until now to seek to deport him? Middleton came here aged four; New Zealand is effectively the only home he has known” said Jess.

“There appears to have been no effort made to discover whether Middleton still poses a threat to the odious Paul Dally, or whether he has the intention or even the means to carry the threats out, as a man nearing 60 years old. Rather the state has simply swooped on him at his place of work, imprisoned him for 40 hours, and now wishes to chuck him out”.

“This government has been vocal about the Australians deporting New Zealand criminals who left here as children, and whose only connection to this country is that they were born here. Some of the people the Labour Party has gone into bat for have committed serious violent crimes and served hefty prison sentences for them. All this man has done – 17 years ago – is make threats which most fathers would understand. And he has already been punished for making those threats” McVicar said.

“Sensible Sentencing says Mark Middleton has been punished more than enough for one lifetime – first by Paul Joseph Dally, and then by the state. We say Mr Middleton ought to be given time to regularize his immigration status, and after he does so, he should be left alone. Or is he to be treated like some New Zealand born scumbag who has bashed and robbed people in Australia?” ENDS

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12032976

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