Identity of Adelaide terror accused remains a secret despite being ordered to face trial

THE identity of a man accused of advocating terrorism by filming demonstrations on how to kill Jewish people remains a secret despite him being ordered to stand trial.

The public is banned from knowing the man’s identity despite him formally denying charges advocating terrorism.

THE identity of a man accused of advocating terrorism by filming demonstrations on how to kill Jewish people remains a secret despite him being ordered to stand trial.

The western suburbs man, 51, cannot be named for legal reasons despite a magistrate revoking secrecy orders surrounding his identity after he formally denied the charges.

Instead, the man’s defence lawyer, Stacey Carter, successfully sought an interim order, pending an appeal against Magistrate Jayanthi McGrath’s decision to allow publication of his name.

While Ms Carter conceded there was a case to answer, she told the Adelaide Magistrates Court “negotiations” were ongoing with prosecutors amid concerns about his mental health.

Arguing that his name should remain a secret, she claimed that identifying him would prejudice any future jury trial — claims the magistrate rejected.

After she revoked the order, Ms Carter said she would appeal to the Supreme Court, which will hear argument about the suppression order at a later date.

Commonwealth prosecutors allege the four separate videos posted to social media “depicted (him) advocating with other persons to engage in acts of terrorism”.

They are said to provide “explicit verbal instructions as well as physical demonstrations with weapons as to how to kill Jewish people”.

In a landmark prosecution, authorities allege he posted several videos on the internet, and social media, including one in which he menacingly waves a chainsaw and another that encourages those in international conflict zones to commit terrorist acts.

The Australian Federal Police allege the videos — which remain online and have been reposted by others — were filmed at his Adelaide home between July 28, 2015, and November 4, 2015.

On Friday, the man pleaded not guilty to four counts of advocating terrorism over claims he produced videos that included instructions and demonstrations on how to kill Jewish people.

Appearing via video link, the man, of Flinders Park, refused to answer Ms McGrath, and held his head in his hands, when she asked for his pleas. She was told he was denying the charges.

The court has heard doctors concluded he was “acutely psychotic at the time of these offences”.

A 19-page psychiatric assessment, the contents of which cannot be revealed for legal reasons, provide immense detail on the man, including his background and events surrounding the alleged offences, the court has heard.

The Advertiser is aware of his past, which he has documented in a lengthy manifesto that also cannot be detailed for legal reasons.

Federal law prohibits advocating the “doing” or “commissioning” of a terrorist act.

AFP agents charged in him December in the first such case of its type in Australia.

The man, who faces a maximum 20 years in jail if found guilty, was arrested by the South Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, acting on information from the National Security Hotline.

Ms McGrath ordered he face a District Court trial at a later date as she remanded him in custody.