December 18th 2024.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, a convicted terrorist, will continue to be monitored by the government for at least another month, but with less strict restrictions. After spending almost 20 years in prison for plotting terror attacks in Melbourne, he was released in December 2023. However, he was immediately placed under a government supervision order that included more than 30 strict conditions, such as police surveillance and a curfew.
The original order was set to expire at 3pm on Thursday, but the federal Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, applied to extend it in the Victorian Supreme Court. Zoe Maud SC, who represented the attorney-general, explained to the court on Wednesday that the extension was necessary to ensure the safety of the public. She cited a recent psychiatric assessment of Benbrika, which revealed that he still held extremist views and that it would take time for the deradicalisation program to change his core beliefs. Maud also mentioned that he had problematic personality traits that could make him vulnerable to being influenced by others or influencing them.
Maud outlined the conditions of Benbrika's current order, which included a curfew, restrictions on his employment, and police monitoring of his electronic devices and internet usage. However, under the proposed extended order, Benbrika would only have to comply with conditions that ensured he participated in psychological and psychiatric treatment, as well as the deradicalisation program he was already undergoing.
Benbrika's barrister, Dan Star KC, stated that they did not oppose the month-long extension, but they would contest the making of a more permanent order in 2025. Justice James Elliott agreed that there were reasonable grounds to extend the supervision order for another 28 days, stating that it was necessary to protect the community. The order will now expire on January 16, but Star indicated that they would not oppose another month-long extension at that time. The parties will reconvene in the Supreme Court on January 14 to formally extend the order again.
Benbrika, who is now in his 60s, was convicted for planning to attack the MCG during the 2005 AFL grand final and Melbourne's Crown Casino. In 2009, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for directing a terrorist organization. Although his sentence ended in November 2020, a further three-year detention order was made, and he was not released back into the community until December 2023. He was then placed under a government supervision order with more than 30 strict conditions.
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