37-year-old Dr Chamari Liyanage, who was jailed for four years in February last year after being found guilty of manslaughter for killing her abusive husband in 2014, will not be deported.
After suffering physical and emotional abuse for years, Dr Liyanage bludgeoned her husband, Dr Dinendra Athukorala in his sleep with a mallet at their Geraldton home in Western Australia.
During her trial, the court heard that Ms Liyanage’s husband forced her to perform sexual acts with other males and she suffered “worst kind of escalating” sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
For friends and family, Liyanage was happily married to Athukorala. But behind closed doors, the court heard, her husband pushed her into having affairs with other men.
He also spent a lot of time watching pornography, seducing young women.
The court also heard that Dr Athukorala had videos and images of children being sexually abused on his computers and laptops.
Liyanage also told police and court that her husband had listed her on pornography websites, and wouldn’t allow her to sleep at night as he forced her to have sex - which he often streamed online to strangers.
The court convicted her of manslaughter in a three-week trial in February 2016.
Though she was acquitted of more serious charges of murder, Ms Liyanage was earlier facing possible deportation upon her release on parole as her visa could be cancelled on character grounds.
But, her friends’ tireless campaign managed to convince the Immigration Department to reinstate her permanent residents’ visa after well-known domestic violence campaigner and Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty also wrote to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to allow Ms Liyanage to stay in Australia.
Ms Liyanage has been eligible for a parole since July last year. Her parole application will now be heard next month.
Her lawyer Alisdair Putt said the former doctor is very thankful and touched by the support from the Australian community.
