Usman Khawaja’s brother bashed in prison ahead of fake terror sentencing
The troubled brother of Australian cricket star Usman Khawaja has been bashed by fellow inmates in prison as he awaits sentencing for framing a colleague with false terrorism claims.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Sydney bikie appeals three year sentence over Mick Hawi murder
- Download our app and stay up to date anywhere, anytime
The brother of Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has been bashed behind bars and his lawyer argues he deserves a reduced sentence because he is “severely mentally ill.”
Arsalan Khawaja has tearfully labelled himself a “coward” while apologising for faking a terror plot to sabotage a perceived romantic rival in 2018.
The 40-year-old wept as his lawyer told the NSW District Court Khawaja “finds it hard to live” with what he’s done, and accepts he deserves to serve time in jail.
“He’s ashamed of himself,” defence barrister Phillip Boulten SC said.
“He has already been dealt with badly by prisoners… he was assaulted. There are injuries.”
Mr Boulten told Sydney’s Downing Centre that Khawaja has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and was likely in such a distressed psychological state that he didn’t fully appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
“He was very severely mentally ill,” Mr Boulten told Khawaja’s sentence hearing on Friday.
“At the heart of it is his perception of abandonment.”
Khawaja cried last month as he detailed framing two innocent men with fabricated terror complaints between 2016 and 2018 as he tried to win the hearts of two women.
This year Khawaja pleaded guilty to four charges including perverting the course of justice, and is facing a maximum 10 years’ jail.
But Mr Boulten argued any sentence should be shortened because of Khawaja’s disturbed mental state, adding he was confident he would “come good” if his treatment and medication continued.
In 2018 the UNSW IT worker stole a notebook from his colleague Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen, and secretly wrote down a terrorist blueprint targeting then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Sydney Opera House.
“Get bomb and weapon training,” “strengthen muscles for jihad” and “can’t wait to go to Sri Lanka for Jihad prep” were some of the bogus terror diary entries, agreed facts state.
The notebook contained plots to attack the Melbourne Cup, Sydney’s St Mary‘s Cathedral and the Boxing Day Test match, where there would be “no Muslims playing.”
Mr Boulten suggested it was an obvious and unsophisticated crime, but the judge noted it occurred after the United States plane hijackings that struck the World Trade Center in 2001, and Sydney’s 2014 Lindt café siege.
“Preposterous though it was, it was still undertaken at a time of heightened alert about terrorism post 9/11, which persists to this day,” Judge Robert Weber SC said.
Agreed facts show the then 38-year-old’s motive was jealousy of a friendship between Mr Nizamdeen and Shakeela Shahid - a young woman who worked in their office.
“Kamer is a top bloke, he‘s a friend of mine, and I let him down,” Khawaja told the court in September.
“I strongly regret my actions…. I lacked the courage to come forward.”
Mr Nizamdeen was imprisoned for a month in Goulburn’s notorious Supermax jail before he was released on bail. His charges were dropped in October 2018 after experts found two sets of handwriting in the notebook.
MORE NEWS
Obeid family to pay $5m legal bill after failed ICAC lawsuit
‘An insult to his memory’: Cop killer walks free on parole
Lib MP ‘bragged about ‘mega money’ client
In a victim impact statement, the popular commerce graduate detailed the emotional trauma and negative media publicity he’s suffered since, which have made returning to his previous employment difficult.
After returning home to Sri Lanka Mr Nizamdeen also had issues travelling, including to visit his fiance in the United States, Crown prosecutor Paul McGuire SC said.
Mr Nizamdeen claimed police questioned him for 10 hours and he was not allowed access to a lawyer for days, the court heard.
But Mr McGuire said Mr Nizamdeen was mistaken, pointing to the length of his electronically recorded interview, in which officers invited him to contact his lawyer, a consular official, a relative, or a friend at various points.
As early as 2016, Khawaja anonymously contacted immigration officials claiming another man known as M1 was preaching extremist ideology at a Sydney mosque.
Agreed facts show Khawaja was bitter the man had started dating his ex-girlfriend, telling her: “I need him gone completely.”
In 2017 he told the Border Watch hotline M1 had joined terror group Hizb ut-Tahrir and had trained overseas with Jamaat-e-Islami.
Khawaja said M1 wanted to target soldiers at an Anzac Day dawn service and “get to famous Australian Muslims”, telling authorities about his batsman brother, Mr McGuire said.
Last month Usman Khawaja said his eldest brother was beloved by everyone, including his national teammates.
The cricketer said while growing up Arsalan was his parent’s favourite child, went on to obtain a master’s degree and worked at IBM where he was given a national defence clearance.
“Everything he did was the model citizen, up until recently,” Usman Khawaja said via video link from Brisbane.
Arsalan Khawaja will be sentenced on November 5.