Reuters AlertNet Lite - Australia's biggest terror trial ends, 7 found guilty

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

Australia's biggest terror trial ends, 7 found guilty

16 Sep 2008 07:02:06 GMT
Source: Reuters

MELBOURNE, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest terrorism trial ended on Tuesday with a seventh Muslim man found guilty of terrorism, a day after a Muslim cleric and five followers were convicted of planning an attack in Melbourne in 2005.

The trial saw 12 Muslims facing terror charges over plans to attack a grand final football match in Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, attended by 97,000 fans.

The attack, aimed at forcing Australia to withdraw troops from Iraq, did not take place.

Four of the men were found not guilty and the jury could not reach a verdict on one, who may face a fresh trial.

The Victoria state Supreme Court on Tuesday found Amer Haddara, 28, guilty of being a member of an unnamed terrorist organisation.

On Monday, Muslim cleric Abdul Benbrika, 48, was found guilty of leading and being a member of an unnamed terrorist body, while five followers were found guilty of being members of a terrorist group. Four other men were acquitted.

Submissions for sentencing will be heard in November.

Australia has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil, but more than 90 Australians were killed in bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali since 2002.

Australia withdrew its 550 combat troops from Iraq in June 2008, but still has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan. (Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Valerie Lee)

AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article Send comments

Latest news

• Australia's biggest terror trial ends, 7 found guilty

• Australian opposition chooses new, greener leader

• Australian opposition chooses new, greener leader

• Migraine sufferers prone to leg clots -study

• FACTBOX-Huge Indonesian mine in Papua source of controversy

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by