The 2005 Sydney terrorism plot concerned a group of five men arrested in 2005 on charges of planning an act of terrorism targeting Sydney, Australia's most populous city and the capital of New South Wales. The group was found guilty on 16 October 2009 and were sentenced on 15 February 2010 for terms up to 28 years. [1]
Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan, and Mohammed Omar Jamal were arrested in various neighbourhoods of Sydney and were tried in the New South Wales Supreme Court over a terror-related plot they planned between July 2004 and November 2005. Each pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to commit a terrorist act or acts. [2] The final cost of the trial is expected to be more than A$10 million. [3]
The Crown Prosecutor claimed that the men were motivated by a belief that Islam was under attack. [4] The five allegedly had links to Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who is under arrest in Melbourne. [4] Police searches of their homes discovered instructions on bomb-making, 28,000 rounds of ammunition (including 11,000 7.62×39mm), 12 rifles, militant Islamist literature, and footage of beheadings carried out by Islamists, and also of aircraft crashing into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. According to the prosecution, the men purchased explosive chemicals and guns between July 2004 and November 2005. [5] [6]
The men were put on trial late in 2008. Closing arguments were heard on 28 July 2009. [7] The trial took place in a specially-built high-security court building in Sydney. [8] [9] Prosecutor Richard Maidment claimed that the five men wanted "violent jihad which involved the application of extreme force and violence, including the killing of those who did not share the fundamentalist... extremist, beliefs". [10] A mistrial was almost declared when the defence asked for the jury to be dismissed; it was discovered that a young woman, who was a relative of one of the accused, had been coming to court and reportedly writing down descriptions of the jurors. [8] However, the jurors said it would not affect their deliberations and the judge allowed the trial to continue. [8]
The five were found guilty on 16 October 2009. The trial was one of Australia's longest and involved approximately 300 witnesses and 3,000 exhibits, including 18 hours of telephone intercepts and 30 days of surveillance tapes, which has overtaken the record previously held by the liquidation of Bell Group. [8] [9] [10] [11] Outside the court, supporters of the five men shouted in protest and anger after they watched the ruling on an outdoor screen. [9]
The perpetrators were jailed on 15 February 2010 for terms ranging from 23 to 28 years, as follows: [12] [13]
In December 2014 before the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal, all five men lost an appeal against both their conviction and their sentences. [13] [14]
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, also known as Abu Hamza al-Masri, the Hook Hand or simply Abu Hamza, is an Egyptian cleric who was the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in London, England, where he preached Islamic revivalism. In 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police after the United States requested he be extradited to face charges. He was later charged by British authorities with sixteen offences for inciting violence and racial hatred. In 2006, a British court found him guilty of inciting violence, and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment. On 5 October 2012, after an eight-year legal battle, he was extradited from the UK to the United States to face terrorism charges and on 14 April 2014 his trial began in New York. On 19 May 2014, Hamza was found guilty of eleven terrorism charges by a jury in Manhattan. On 9 January 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was detained by the United States in Guantanamo Bay detention camp from 2002 until 2007. He had attended the Al Farouq training camp para-military training in Afghanistan during 2001.
Lynne Irene Stewart was an American defense attorney who was known for representing controversial, famous defendants. She herself was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists in 2005, and sentenced to 28 months in prison. Her felony conviction led to her being automatically disbarred. She was convicted of helping pass messages from her client Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric convicted of planning terror attacks, to his followers in al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an organization designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States Secretary of State.
Gordon Richard Nuttall is a former Australian politician who represented Sandgate in the Queensland Parliament from 1992 to 2006. He was a member of the Labor Party and served as a minister in the Beattie Ministry from 2001 to 2005. In 2009 he was found guilty of corruptly receiving secret commissions during his time in office and jailed for seven years. In 2010, he was found guilty of five charges of official corruption and five charges of perjury and, ultimately, jailed for an additional seven years, the longest jail term for corruption handed to a Commonwealth politician. He was released on parole in July 2015.
The Sydney Twelve were members of the Industrial Workers of the World arrested on 23 September 1916 in Sydney, Australia, and charged with treason under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) which incorporated the Treason Felony Act 1848 (Imp). They were John Hamilton, Peter Larkin, Joseph Fagin, William Teen, Donald Grant, Benjamin King, Thomas Glynn, Donald McPherson, Thomas Moore, Charles Reeve, William Beattie, and Bob Besant. The treason charges were dropped prior to trial and replaced with three conspiracy charges: (1) conspiracy to commit arson (2) conspiracy to procure the release of Tom Barker from gaol by unlawful means and (3) conspiracy to excite sedition.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, also known as Abu Bakr, is a convicted criminal and Muslim cleric of the Sunni Islam faith, currently serving an Australian custodial sentence of fifteen years, with a non-parole period of twelve years for intentionally being the leader and a member of a terrorist organisation. Benbrika was one of 17 men arrested in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005, charged with being members of a terrorist organisation and of planning terrorist attacks on targets within Australia. Benbrika is alleged to be the spiritual leader of the group. All 17 men pleaded not guilty. On 15 September 2008 Benbrika was found guilty as charged and subsequently sentenced.
Joseph "Jihad Jack" Terrence Thomas is an Australian citizen who undertook pistol, light firearm and demolition training with Al-Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden visited his training camp three times while he was in attendance and he shook hands with him. He was convicted for received funds from Al-Qaeda which was later overturned on appeal. Thomas, commonly referred to in Australian media as "Jihad Jack", was acquitted of providing resources that would assist in a terrorist act before becoming the first Australian to be placed under a control order under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005.
The 2006 Ontario terrorism case refers to the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006, counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adults and 4 youths . These individuals have been characterized as having been inspired by al-Qaeda.
Faheem Khalid Lodhi is a convicted Pakistani–Australian criminal and architect, currently serving an Australian custodial sentence of twenty years, with a non-parole period of fifteen years for conspiring to commit a terrorist act or acts. Lodhi was the first convicted Australian terrorist under amendments made to the Criminal Code Act in May 2003.
Bilal Saadallah Khazal is a convicted Lebanese Australian criminal currently serving an Australian custodial sentence of fourteen years, with a non-parole period of nine years, for producing a book whilst knowing it was connected with assisting a terrorist attack. Khazal who was a former baggage handler for Qantas Airways at Sydney Airport, and a prominent figure in the Islamic Youth Movement.
Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by Australian governments to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.
The 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six Muslim men who were found guilty of conspiring to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The alleged goal of the group was to "kill as many soldiers as possible".
Mohammed Atif Siddique is a Scottish prisoner who was found guilty, but later cleared on appeal, of one of his convictions "collecting terrorist-related information, setting up websites...and circulating inflammatory terrorist publications", resulting in a sentence of eight years' imprisonment. His defence has consistently been that he was a curious 20-year-old youth, still living with his parents, who was "looking for answers on the internet". One of his convictions was quashed on appeal on the 29th of January, 2010. He remains a convicted terrorist.
The 2007 hitman case is an Australian criminal case involving Steven Wayne Spaliviero and Swede Charlotte Karin Lindström. Lindström is so far the only one sentenced for the crime. Spaliviero served 11 years in prison and was released October 2017, but was never charged for the hitman case. The hitman case has been widely reported by media in Australia and Scandinavia.
The Darwiche–Razzak–Fahda family conflict was a series of murders and assaults among three Australian families of Lebanese descent in south-west Sydney, New South Wales between February 2001 and March 2009. Some family members were part of rival cannabis operations. Marital breakdowns were also reportedly a factor in the crimes.
Failed terrorism plots are terrorist plots that have either been foiled, uncovered by authorities or failed through mistakes.
On the morning of 18 September 2014, police in Australia carried out the biggest counter-terrorism operation in the nation's history, with over 800 heavily armed officers targeting households in the cities of Sydney and Brisbane. It came days after the Australian government raised the terror threat from medium to high due to concerns about Australian citizens returning to the country after fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Following the raids, two people were charged, one with terrorism offences and the other for possession of an unauthorised firearm. One of the two arrestees became one of only two men on remand at the highest security prison in Australia, as he is considered an "AA" security risk.
Ralph Kenneth Deleon is a Filipino, and legal permanent resident of the United States, who in 2015 was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder of members of the United States military and government, and providing material support for terrorists. Deleon is serving a 25-year sentence.
People listed in italics have died. | |
| Sydney Five |
|
| Held in Guantanamo Bay | |
| Alleged al-Qaeda members | |
| 2009 Holsworthy Barracks plot |
|
| Others | |
1 Currently imprisoned. 2 Released after serving sentence. | |
