Curtis Cheng murder trial: Accused terrorist Milad Atai gives ISIS salute in court
A 20-YEAR-OLD Sydney man gave a terrorist salute after becoming the first person in Australia to be charged with being an Islamic State member.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A 20-YEAR-OLD Sydney man gave a terrorist salute after becoming the first person in Australia to be charged with being an Islamic State member.
A sneering Milad Atai appeared in court yesterday accused of swearing allegiance to the terrorist organisation’s spiritual leader — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Dressed in his prison uniform, Atai was one of four men appearing in Goulburn Local Court via video link and charged with being part of the terrorist cell responsible for the death of NSW police accountant Curtis Cheng.
Atai showed his contempt for proceedings when he raised a lone finger to the magistrate in the familiar “one salute” used in Islamic State propaganda photographs and videos.
Only Atai, of Guildford, was charged with being a member of IS. The other three faced charges relating to the death of Mr Cheng, such as being members of a terrorist organisation.
Mr Cheng, 58, and a father of two, was executed by teen terrorist Farhad Jabar as he left Parramatta police headquarters last October.
Atai is alleged to have helped Jabar’s sister Shadi leave Australia to travel to the Islamic State stronghold in Syria the day before.
Her brother, still only a schoolboy, was killed by police in an exchange of gunfire after he had killed Mr Cheng.
Atai has also been charged with planning a terrorist act, knowingly participating in a criminal group assisting crime and three counts of knowingly being a member of a terrorist organisation.
The court documents revealed that one of those organisations is Islamic State, outlawed in Australia.
Atai, along with Mustafa Dirani, Raban Alou and Talal Alameddine, were before the court accused of plotting the terror attack that resulted in the death of Mr Cheng.
Far from being the act of a radicalised teenager acting alone, court papers said the conspiracy to commit a terrorist act was almost five weeks in the making.
Alou, 18, is charged with directing a terrorist act starting sometime from August 27.
He has also been charged with supplying a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver to Jabar, believed to be the weapon used to murder Mr Cheng and handed to him at the nearby Parramatta Mosque.
Dirani, Alou and Atai appeared via audiovisual link from Goulburn Supermax, but Alameddine declined to appear in court. Dirani, Alou and Alameddine had already been charged with offences relating to the murderous plot, but it was Atai’s first charge on the matter.
None of the men applied for bail and all four have been ordered to appear at Central Local Court on June 9.
An earlier trial date had been set for Dirani, Alou and Alameddine but prosecutors previously said they required more time to complete their preparations on the complex case. About 2000 intercepts, including many in foreign languages, need to be transcribed before the trial.
All the men, except for Alameddine, appeared via video link but spoke only to answer administrative questions asked by registrar Bernadette Hilton. Alameddine was the only one to have a representative in court.
MILITANTS USE TRAVEL CARDS TO HIDE CASH
EXCLUSIVE Daniel Meers
PREPAID travel cards are being used to shift money in and out of the Australia to finance terrorism.
The Turnbull government will today release a highly anticipated terrorism financing review that will recommend sweeping security upgrades to force consumers to provide greater identification before purchasing the cards.
Intelligence agencies believe extremists are putting up to $999 on multiple cards at one time and using them to funnel money around the globe without having to identify themselves.
The prepaid cards, which can be purchased at Australia Post or 7-Eleven, do not require identification when less than $1000 is put on. The system allows low-value but high-volume accessibility to move funds with anonymity.
It is understood Counter- Terrorism Minister Michael Keenan will agree to undertake a risk assessment, which is likely to see the threshold lowered from $1000.
Similar cards were used by terrorists involved in the Paris atrocity last year.
Bulk purchases of the prepaid cards are not unusual because companies often use them as “bonus gifts” for employees. This has made it easier for extremists to transfer money under the radar.
The statutory review into Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime will recommend providing greater powers to AUSTRAC to monitor and manage dodgy remitters.
It will also recommend a working group be established to develop options for better regulatory oversight of remitters. Overhauling secrecy and access provisions to enable AUSTRAC and partner agencies the capabilities for real-time sharing of crucial financial intelligence is also part of the recommendations.
Mr Keenan said stopping money being transferred offshore to aid extremists was critical to foiling future attacks.
“Recent events in Paris, Brussels and Jakarta serve as tragic reminders,’’ he said.
Soaring ticket sales for Everest Day see extra police drafted as King set to make a cameo
More than 40,000 race goers are expected to attend the races in what will be the biggest crowd in modern history at the Sydney racetrack as excitement builds the king will make an appearance trackside.
Kidman farewells mother at private memorial
Actress Nicole Kidman has farewelled her late mother at a private memorial held in Sydney on Tuesday.