Minister Paul Papalia accuses judiciary of being ‘out of step’ over detainee’s repeated bail before crash

Police Minister Paul Papalia has blasted elements of the judiciary for being “out of step” by repeatedly granting bail to a man who allegedly went on to seriously injure a driver in a crash, saying he cannot understand why he was on the street. Mr Papalia’s comments came after The West revealed former immigration detainee Ali Qussay Yousuf — who was released under a High Court ruling — was on bail, despite appearing before the courts almost 20 times, when he allegedly ran a red light in Doubleview. Police allege he crashed into another driver and leaving them with life-changing injuries. Mr Yousuf was accused of an almost year-long crime spree while out on bail, facing driving, drug, weapons and stealing charges. Announcing the enactment of knife-wanding laws in Perth on Wednesday, Mr Papalia, who is also Corrections Minister, took aim at the courts. “Anyone I think, would be wondering why some of the judiciary appeared so out of step with community expectations on these types of matters,” he said. “He’s a repeat offender. Our police have done a fantastic job catching him, charging him. I can’t really understand why he was on the streets.” But half an hour later, at a hospital announcement in Geraldton, the Premier declined to say if he was concerned the man had been granted bail. “I’ll leave it up to the courts to actually make the decisions they need to, as part of their independent legal process,” he said. “But I just say, if anyone in Western Australia breaks the law, the police will come down on you. “We’ll charge you, and you’ll be held to account.” Mr Cook added the Government wanted WA to remain a “peaceful” and “safe” place. Mr Yousaf has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm over the Doubleview crash and was refused bail on Saturday. Prior to the crash, he was charged with incidents from several dates between January and November. The first of these was allegedly causing criminal damage by fire in Dianella. Just a few days before the crash, police allege he possessed a prohibited weapon in Karrinyup.