<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Disgraced former deputy mayor of Auburn Council </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/salim-mehajer-leaves-jail-former-auburn-deputy-mayor-almost-five-years-behind-bars/d733325c-0443-4d4d-a0d9-ee8b160e1598" rel="" target="_blank" title=" Salim Mehajer"><span>Salim Mehajer</span></a><span> has released a statement following his release on parole after being locked up for five years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mehajer was sentenced to seven years and nine months behind bars for a number of crimes, including domestic violence offences against his ex-partner, and forging his lawyer's signature.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was released on parole yesterday and posted to his private Instagram page this morning, thanking the parole board for his release.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I wish to formally convey my deep gratitude for the opportunity granted to me by the State Parole Authority," the post reads.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I am fully committed to fulfilling the expectations placed before me, additionally, I express my sincere appreciation for the unwavering support of my family and friends, as well as the dedication of my legal representative."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he couldn't comment on the matter further as he has a scheduled appeal in three weeks. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The post included a third paragraph, saying that in his prior ten-year relationship with Aysha Learmonth, he had never been accused of violence against her, and said she had nothing to do with "present matters."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/salim-mehajer-released-statement-following-his-release-on-parole/2cb03dfe-fd76-4e79-9802-312229e1ad80" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I find it extraordinary that the media persists in referencing my prior marriage to my then long-term partner," he wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Learmonth was granted an AVO against Mehajer in 2017 as video footage emerged that showed him threatening to rape her and her parents.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was convicted of breaching the AVO in 2018.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair's lavish 2015 wedding put Mehajer in the spotlight, spending over $1 million on the event.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mehajer was granted parole last month after he was found guilty in 2023 in separate trials for offences which took place between April 1, 2018 and October 4, 2020, including for domestic violence against a different former partner of Mehajer.</span></div></div>