Unrepentant jihadi Milad Atai sentenced to at least 28 years jail

An unrepentant jihadi convicted over the terrorist killing of NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng refused to stand for the judge, smiled, laughed and shook his head as he was sentenced to a maximum 38 years in prison

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An unrepentant jihadi convicted over the terrorist killing of NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng will spend at least 28 years behind bars.

Milad Atai pleaded guilty to helping the radicalised schoolboy behind the 2015 shooting outside Parramatta police headquarters and recently withdrew his apology to the dead man’s family, labelling remorse as “bull****”.

His wife later called Goulburn’s notorious Supermax jail to tell Atai he’d “done something really stupid”, the Supreme Court heard on Friday.

Milad Atai also gave a one-finger salute after his sentencing.

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Atai wore a skullcap and kept his head bowed as Justice Peter Johnson said the latest blow he’d inflicted on the Cheng family was “cruel and devoid of basic humanity”.

Mr Cheng’s son Alpha and widow Selina comforted each other in the courtroom and earlier Atai’s wife pointed him out to their toddler boy saying “there’s daddy”.

The 22-year-old refused to stand for the judge and smiled, laughed and shook his head as he was sentenced to a maximum 38 years in prison with a non parole period of 28 years and six months.

Atai gave the Islamic State one finger salute and yelled words in Arabic to the public gallery as he was removed by security officers.

“The offender’s recent stance has caused upset to his wife and will no doubt have an adverse impact on his son,” Justice Johnson said.

During a September sentencing hearing Atai said sorry for the hurt he put Mr Cheng’s widow Selina through but in October recanted it, saying he regrets nothing.

“I take back what I said in the box because I was in the heat of moment and I just slipped up,” a handwritten letter from Atai to federal police and prosecutors said.

“If use (sic) can please let the judge know about this letter and I want him to know where I stand with this remorse bulls***.

Channel 7 video of the moment Parramatta shooter 15-year-old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar started firing a gun in front of Parramatta police station.

“I ask Allah to grant victory to the believers and to destroy those who oppress his slaves.”

Justice Johnson said Atai has re-adopted the “perverted ideology” of violent radicalised jihad, proving he was still attached to the “warped and criminal belief system” that’s landed him in jail.

He added that Atai’s prospects for rehabilitations unfavourable and his risk of reoffending was significant.

NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng was murdered in the attack.

The judge gave Atai a 10 per cent sentence discount for his late guilty pleas in May to aiding an offence and two counts of knowingly collecting funds for terrorist organisation Islamic State.

Atai helped close mate and jailed terrorist Raban Alou as he tried to source the gun which 15-year-old Farhad Jabar used to shoot Mr Cheng in the back of the head as he left work on October 2,2015.

The court heard he put Jabar’s older sister Shadi in touch with terrorist Ahmed Merhi and gave her cash before she joined IS fighters in Syria the day before Mr Cheng was murdered.

She later died in an American drone strike.

Justice Johnson said it’s difficult for decent people to understand the “twisted and evil minds” at work where a 21-year-old woman is prepared to have her teenage brother commit such an atrocity where he is likely to die in the process.

Three days after Jabar’s attack Atai praised the teen’s actions in a private IS-inspired WhatsApp chat group, the court heard.

Atai posted “Allahu Akbar … the young brother had a smile on his face and his finger up”, referencing the single finger salute Jabar gave to CCTV cameras before he left Parramatta Mosque to carry out the attack.

Justice Johnson said this showed Atai’s belief that Jabar was a martyr and was being rewarded by going to paradise.