Natalie O'Brien | November 12, 2008
Five Sydney men accused of plotting to carry out a terrorist attack in Australia allegedly collected large amounts of extremist material that glorified violent jihad, indiscriminate mass murder and ritual beheadings.
The men were allegedly motivated by Australia's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, believing it was an act of aggression against the wider Muslim community and justification for their mission to defend their Islamic faith.
Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan and Mohammed Omar Jamal went on trial yesterday in the NSW Supreme Court charged with conspiring to commit an act, or acts, in preparation for a terrorist act. They have pleaded not guilty.
The devout Muslims, aged between 24 and 43, had allegedly planned to use bombs and firearms to carry out an attack in pursuit of their religious, political and ideological beliefs.
A panel of 15 jurors has been chosen to hear the case but only 12 will be selected to decide the verdict. The trial is expected to last up to a year and will include hundreds of witnesses.
In his address to the jurors, judge Anthony Whealy warned that it was a circumstantial case and they would need to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that all five men had agreed to the preparation of a violent act that was motivated by religion, politics or ideology and aimed to intimidate or coerce governments or the public.
He gave the jury a list of dos and don'ts and warned them not to do any of their own research, particularly on the internet.
Amid tight security yesterday and in front of a packed courtroom in Parramatta, in Sydney's west, Crown prosecutor Richard Maidment SC opened the case against the men, saying they were part of a group that held a number of common beliefs, among them being that the world was divided into two camps: those who strictly adhered to the Muslim faith and those who did not.
Mr Maidment told the jury the men embraced several notions, including that the Muslim faith was under attack and that it was their religious obligation to carry out a defence of Islam and other Muslims.
He told the court one of the features of the evidence would be the nature and extent of the views shared by the men and their collection of extremist material, including video files, literature, and computer files they shared.
"They possessed large quantities of literature which supported indiscriminate killing, mass murder and martyrdom in pursuit of violent jihad, and which apparently sought to provide religious justification for conduct of that nature," Mr Maidment said.
"They possessed images and videos depicting violent jihad at work, including images of the planes going into the World Trade Centre and images of death and destruction on the battlefield."
There were also videos showing ritual beheadings and other forms of violence connected with violent jihad and step-by-step instructional material to show untrained or potential terrorists how to make bombs capable of causing large-scale death and destruction.
The court was told the men entered into a conspiracy between July 2004 and July 2005, with at least another four men.
Mr Maidment told the jury that the Australian Federal Police and spy agency ASIO had the men under surveillance for some time, using physical surveillance and listening devices and tapping their telephones. There were signs that the men knew they were been watched, but they still carried on with their plans.
It will be alleged that the men used false names and addresses to obtain telephones, order chemicals and book camping trips.
Some of the men were in touch with a self-styled religious leader in Melbourne and they travelled to Melbourne to see him for spiritual advice.
The jury will hear tapes of conversations between the men and the sheik that were recorded by a listening device in his home.
The trial continues.
Five Sydney men accused of plotting to carry out a terrorist attack in Australia allegedly collected large amounts of extremist material that glorified violent jihad, indiscriminate mass murder and ritual beheadings.
The men were allegedly motivated by Australia's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, believing it was an act of aggression against the wider Muslim community and justification for their mission to defend their Islamic faith.
Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan and Mohammed Omar Jamal went on trial yesterday in the NSW Supreme Court charged with conspiring to commit an act, or acts, in preparation for a terrorist act. They have pleaded not guilty.
The devout Muslims, aged between 24 and 43, had allegedly planned to use bombs and firearms to carry out an attack in pursuit of their religious, political and ideological beliefs.
A panel of 15 jurors has been chosen to hear the case but only 12 will be selected to decide the verdict. The trial is expected to last up to a year and will include hundreds of witnesses.
In his address to the jurors, judge Anthony Whealy warned that it was a circumstantial case and they would need to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that all five men had agreed to the preparation of a violent act that was motivated by religion, politics or ideology and aimed to intimidate or coerce governments or the public.
He gave the jury a list of dos and don'ts and warned them not to do any of their own research, particularly on the internet.
Amid tight security yesterday and in front of a packed courtroom in Parramatta, in Sydney's west, Crown prosecutor Richard Maidment SC opened the case against the men, saying they were part of a group that held a number of common beliefs, among them being that the world was divided into two camps: those who strictly adhered to the Muslim faith and those who did not.
Mr Maidment told the jury the men embraced several notions, including that the Muslim faith was under attack and that it was their religious obligation to carry out a defence of Islam and other Muslims.
He told the court one of the features of the evidence would be the nature and extent of the views shared by the men and their collection of extremist material, including video files, literature, and computer files they shared.
"They possessed large quantities of literature which supported indiscriminate killing, mass murder and martyrdom in pursuit of violent jihad, and which apparently sought to provide religious justification for conduct of that nature," Mr Maidment said.
"They possessed images and videos depicting violent jihad at work, including images of the planes going into the World Trade Centre and images of death and destruction on the battlefield."
There were also videos showing ritual beheadings and other forms of violence connected with violent jihad and step-by-step instructional material to show untrained or potential terrorists how to make bombs capable of causing large-scale death and destruction.
The court was told the men entered into a conspiracy between July 2004 and July 2005, with at least another four men.
Mr Maidment told the jury that the Australian Federal Police and spy agency ASIO had the men under surveillance for some time, using physical surveillance and listening devices and tapping their telephones. There were signs that the men knew they were been watched, but they still carried on with their plans.
It will be alleged that the men used false names and addresses to obtain telephones, order chemicals and book camping trips.
Some of the men were in touch with a self-styled religious leader in Melbourne and they travelled to Melbourne to see him for spiritual advice.
The jury will hear tapes of conversations between the men and the sheik that were recorded by a listening device in his home.
The trial continues.
Source: The Australian
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