An Australian court has sentenced Sudanese-born Australian citizen Muhammad Ahmed to four years in prison for abandoning his wife in Sudan without her passport, marking the first conviction under Australia’s “exit smuggling” law.
This charge, a form of human trafficking, involves deceiving or coercing someone into leaving a country against their will.
The court in Victoria heard that three months after traveling with his wife and two children to Sudan, Ahmed took his wife’s passport and identification documents and returned to Melbourne with the children, leaving her stranded.
Prior to this, he had secretly withdrawn support for her visa, alleging she had abused the children.
During sentencing, Judge Frank underscored the premeditated nature of Ahmed’s actions. Testimony revealed that it took Ahmed’s wife over a year to reinstate her visa and finally return to Australia, where she was reunited with her children.
The court found that Ahmed had engaged in deception, repeatedly assuring his wife she would return to Australia while secretly acting to prevent it.
After a prolonged 16-month ordeal, she managed to come back to Australia, though Ahmed initially blocked her access to the children. A legal battle ultimately granted her the right to reunite with them.
