Suspected terrorist supporter Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand sentenced after breaching control order

A suspected terrorist sympathiser who already served time behind bars for breaching a control order has been officially sentenced in court.

Suspected terrorist supporter Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand has been sentenced for breaching a control order, which his barrister described as trivial.

The 27-year-old was arrested at Auburn in December 2020 for breaching the order imposed on him after he was convicted of using his brother’s passport in 2014 when it was intercepted in Dubai.

He returned home and was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

The previous year, it was reported how his passport was cancelled amid fears he would travel to the Middle East to become a foreign fighter for the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

In May, barrister Greg James QC told Parramatta District Court the breach of the control order arose shortly before Naizmand’s arrest in December 2020 when he requested his wife to send a message to “Mustafa’s mum” to obtain a phone number for his mother via text.

There was no evidence about the motive of the text request, for which his wife received a response, but no more communication.

The construction worker, who is not a convicted terrorist nor alleged to have engaged in any terrorist acts, was arrested three months before the control order expired because he was only supposed to be using a phone the Australian Federal Police issued him.

On May 9 he pleaded guilty to breaching a control order by causing another person to use a mobile telephone device on his behalf.

“On their face they are trivial,’’ Mr James said of the text messages.

He said Naizmand had transgressed but after 511 days in custody, he had served longer than a head sentence for such an offence.

“The time he has already spent in custody should be entirely sufficient,’’ he said.

He would be a “perfectly normal citizen” and would live with his wife of seven years when released from jail.

Crown prosecutor Adam McGrath argued Naizmand was “well aware” of breaching the order, which also restricted him from using a public phone, social media or computers.

He said he would fail to appear for his next court appearance and was at risk of reoffending if he was granted bail.

On May 11, Judge Christopher Craigie granted bail, which prompted Naizmand to smile and give his three supporters in court a thumb’s up when learning the result.

On Monday June 6, Justice Craigie sentenced Naizmand to one year and four months in prison. He has already served the sentence, which began on December 16, 2020 and concluded on April 15, 2022.

He was eligible for parole on December 4, 2021.

A 10 per cent discount was included after Naizmand pleaded guilty.

MORE NEWS

Parramatta Labor candidate promises $3.5 million for Little India, Harris Park

Liberal Democrats candidate Liza Tazewell runs for Parramatta in 2022 federal election