An asylum seeker from Vietnam is facing deportation from Melbourne, Australia, which will separate her from her daughter. Twenty-nine-year-old mother Huyen Tran went to Australia by boat in 2011 after reportedly escaping religious discrimination and persecution in Vietnam.
She is a Catholic, the Australian Associated Press reported. Tran spent almost one year in detention and gave birth to her now six-months-old daughter Isabella during that time.
On Oct. 1, Tran spoke through a translator in the Federal Court in Melbourne and said she could be jailed or even killed if she were forced to return to Vietnam. She added that if she was killed, Isabella would be orphaned.
She also added that she had been given a hard time due to her beliefs and recounted an incident when she was assaulted while defending a statue of the Virgin Mary. She was left with a scar on her head.
The lawyer representing the federal home affairs minister Christopher McDermott said there was no evidence of the assault over the statue and claimed there was no possibility that Tran could be harmed upon returning to Vietnam.
Paul Lee, Tran’s husband, said he is only allowed to see his wife and daughter two hours per day. He also said authorities would not let them baptize their baby at a church as she is not allowed to leave detention.
Presiding judge Philip Burchardt reserved judgement for a future date.