Stocktake of Terrorism Prosecutions in Australia
The first person to be charged with a terrorism offence in Australia. Mallah received an adverse ASIO security assessment and was notpermitted to renew his Australian passport. He thereafter recorded a video message in which he set out a plan to kill ASIO and DFAT officials. This message was sold to an undercover officer, "Greg", posing as a journalist. Jihadi material and a gun were also found in Mallah's house.
The charges against Lodhi related to allegations that he had taken aerial photos of Australian Defence Force establishments, possessed a documentabout how to make bombs, had collected maps of Sydney's electrical supply system and had sought information about the availability of materials for making bombs. Lodhi was arrested after a known associate, Willie Brigitte, was deported by Australian authorities to France to face terrorism charges.
Ul-Haque was alleged to have trained with Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan. Upon Ul-Haque's return to Australia from Pakistan in March 2003, Customs officialsseized materials including articles about events in Afghanistan and a letter in which he stated he was going to Kashmir for 'jihad'. Six months later, Ul-Haque was subjected to a series of oppressive interviews with the AFP and ASIO in which he allegedly admitted his involved with LeT. He was not charged until April 2004.
Khazaal made a book entitled 'Provision on the Rules of Jihad', which was subsequently published on the internet. It was alleged to be a do-it-yourself guide to Jihad, setting out targets for and methods of assassination.
Charges related to allegations that Joseph Thomas (nicknamed 'Jihad Jack' by the media) trained with Al Qa'ida in Afghanistan. He allegedly also received money, an airplane ticket and a falsified passport from a senior Al Qa'ida operative. His conviction for a series of of terrorism offences was overturned on appeal on the basis that admissions he made in Pakistan in March 2003 had not been voluntary. However, Thomas was retried after giving an interview on the ABC's 'Four Corners' program in which he discussed his involvement withthe Taliban and Al Qa'ida.
The remaining 12 men arrested in the Operation Pendennis raids were charged with a range of offences including membership, preparation for a terrorist act, and providing funds to a terrorist organisation. Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who was alleged to be the spiritual leader of the group, was alsocharged with directing the activities of a terrorist organisation.
Nine men were arrested in Sydney as a result of Operation Hammeru. Five of those men are currently on trial. The charges are based on circumstantialevidence including material (such as guns, hexamine fuel and bomb-making guides) found in the men's homes, the purchase of these materials usingfalse names, communication between the men using code words, meetings between the men and Abdul Nacer Benbrika and allegations that the men undertook paramilitary training.
In November 2005, a joint operation of the New South Wales, Victorian and Federal police (Operation Pendennis) culminated in raids of houses Melbourne (parallel raids occurred in Sydney after Operation Hammeru). In total, 13 men were arrested in the Melbourne raids. These menwere alleged to be part of a Melbourne-based terrorist group that planned to wage holy jihad against the Australian government with the intentionof coercing it to withdraw from Iraq. The charge against Atik related to his involvement with this group. He pleaded guilty and became a key witnessfor the prosecution in the trial of the remaining 12 men. He provided the only evidence at trial that the organisation had selected a target forthe alleged terrorist act. However, his evidence was discredited as he was described by Bongiorno J as a 'conman, liar and fraudster'.
The charges related to allegations that Amundsen made threats to Queensland police to expect an Al Qa'ida style attack in Brisbane. He was found in possession for 53 kilograms of the explosive Powergel in addition to four homemade bombs, 10 detonators and a book about Osama Bin Laden. Amundsen subsequently admitted that his plan was to detonate bombs outside his girlfriend's house to win back her love.
The charges are based on the alleged involvement of the three men with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam - using the Melbourne-based TamilCo-ordination Committee to raise $1.9 million to support the terrorist activities of the LTTE. The case for the defence is that the funds were intendedto be used for tsunami relief.
Haneef was arrested in July 2007 as he attempted to board a plan to India. He was detained for 12 days before being charged with terrorism offences relating to the fact that he had given his mobile phone SIM card to his second cousin in England. His second cousins were believed to be involvedin the attempted terrorist attack at Glasgow International Airport in June 2007. Haneef was granted bail but immediately afterwards the Ministerfor Immigration cancelled his visa on character grounds. This cancellation was subsequently quashed by the Federal Court of Australia.
A number of the men involved in the Benbrika trial in Melbourne are to be either retried or tried for additional offences in 2009 or 2010. The additional offences relate to the alleged involvement of the men in making an internet video advocating terrorism and/or placing an order withHaines Educational for laboratory equipment to be used in the making of an explosive.
