Ahmed’s joy at the removal of an ankle monitor he had worn for a year slipped away the next day when Australian Border Force officers re-attached the bracelet.

His eight years in immigration detention included a four-year stint on Christmas Island before he was released after a landmark High Court decision in November 2023 found indefinite detention was unlawful and unconstitutional.

An ankle monitor was placed on him as part of his release along with about 140 others nationwide.

“Seriously, the detention is one thing and the ankle monitor is a whole other thing that is much harder,” he told AAP hours before Border Force officers detached it from his leg at a Department of Home Affairs office in western Sydney.

“You’re walking in the community and you’re feeling shame.”

Breaching the conditions of Bridging Visa R can result in a maximum penalty of five years in jail or more than $93,000 in fines, or both.

In a 5-2 majority decision, the High Court ruled earlier in November the conditions were punitive and breached the separation of powers, following a legal challenge brought by a stateless Eritrean refugee.

In response, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke quickly introduced new legislation allowing monitoring devices and curfews to be enforced again, as well the power to deport to third countries “to protect community safety”. 

“The court’s decision is not the one the government wanted – but it is one the government has prepared for,” the minister said.

A departmental spokesperson told AAP it would not be appropriate for Border Force or Home Affairs to comment on individual cases when asked why Ahmed’s ankle monitor was removed then re-attached a day later to abide by the court ruling.

Several human rights groups condemned the sweeping government measures as an attempt to circumvent High Court decisions.

“The federal government must stop playing politics with people’s lives,” Amnesty International refugee rights campaigner Zaki Haidari said.

Ahmed, a 32-year-old construction worker from Afghanistan, escaped the war-torn country because of persecution against the Shi’ite minority Hazaras and arrived in Australia by boat in 2012.

“We left Afghanistan because of the war and the Taliban was fighting against our people (Hazaras) because we look different,” he said.

He was arrested in 2014 on an expired bridging visa while seeking a permanent protection visa.

After a year in a remand centre for indecent assault charges, which he maintains were dropped, he was transferred to immigration detention in 2015 where he remained for eight years.

“They (successive governments) robbed us of our lives, they lied to the Australian people and they’re not saying the truth about us,” Ahmed said.

“They don’t know us. I have a family. I am a hard worker. I want to build my life. We’re also same like them – we are human beings.”

On the construction site, Ahmed finds it particularly difficult to do his job wearing pants on hot summer days and being mobile.

The electronic devices must be charged throughout the night so authorities can track the freed detainees’ movements.

“You can’t sleep properly at night because you’re always waking up from the sweat, the pimples and rashes … it’s already terrible enough.”

Ahmed uses baby powder to stop the chafing.

He talked of the discrepancy between how non-citizens of refugee backgrounds and Australians who have committed crimes were treated.

“Every day people go in jail for serious crimes but then they are let out and they’re free … what do they want to do with us?” he said.

He spoke of the relief he felt when the ankle monitor was removed and the crushing agony that rapidly set in the day after.

“The weight was gone. I wanted to celebrate,” Ahmed said.

“Here on the outside, everyone is the same except me.”

This post was originally published on Michael West.