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Australia gives Muslim terror cleric 15 year sentence
A Muslim cleric convicted of forming a terrorist cell in Australia was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in jail, bringing the country's largest terrorism trial to a close. Six of his followers were ordered to serve between six and 10 years in prison.Prosecutors accused Abdul Nacer Benbrika, 48, a former aviation engineer who moved to Australia from Algeria in 1989, of urging his followers to carry out a violent attack within Australia to pressure the government to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Australia supported the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 and had combat troops there when Benbrika and his followers were arrested. According to prosecutors, Benbrika said that it would take at least 1,000 deaths to achieve his goal. The seven men were arrested in November 2005 after an undercover police operation found they were plotting to attack landmarks in their home city of Melbourne. The men were convicted last September under legislation introduced in Australia following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The Victoria State Supreme Court sentenced Benbrika to 15 years for intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organization, seven years for intentionally being a member of a terrorist organization and five years for possessing a compact disc connected with the preparation of a terrorist act. He was the first person to be convicted of leading a terrorist group inside Australia. He was ordered to serve the terms concurrently and taking into account time served since his arrest, he will be eligible for parole in about nine years. The other six men received sentences ranging from four to eight years for their participation in the terrorist cell. Benbrika and his six followers were arrested in a series of raids in 2005 after authorities who had intercepted the men's phone calls found that they had formed a terrorist cell with the intent of pursuing violent jihad. Posted by: ryuge 2009-02-03 |
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