Afghan man wins battle for Australian citizenship

An Afghan man has won a battle for Australian citizenship, despite admitting to beating his sisters with a tree branch, media reported on Tuesday.

The man arrived in Australia's Victoria state in late 2008 with his two younger twin sisters, ABC reported.

While living in Mildura city, he found his sisters then 14-year-old, engaged in conversation of sexual nature with an older man on Facebook.

He hit them with a tree branch and said that their behaviour was against their culture.

The man was charged over the incident when the teachers of the girl's school noticed bruises on their skin.

The charges were later dismissed after he completed a behaviour change programme.

However authorities refused his application for Australian citizenship saying that the man was not of good character.

The man appealed against the decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and described it as a one-off incident.

He told the tribunal that he now had a good relationship with his sisters.

The AAT found the man was genuinely remorseful and should be granted citizenship.

--Indo-Asian News Service

ksk/py/vm