Hamza Abbas pleas for mercy ahead of terror plot sentence
A trio of homegrown terrorists who plotted a brutal attack around Federation Square, even practising with explosives, have renounced the violent group as a judge gets set to sentence them.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two homegrown terrorist wannabes have publicly denounced Islamic State while a third has begged for mercy ahead of their sentence for plotting a mass attack in Melbourne’s CBD.
Hamza Abbas, 24, cousin Abdullah Chaarani, 29, and friend Ahmed Mohamed, 27, are today appearing at a pre-sentence hearing in the Supreme Court where they were convicted by a jury of plotting the terrorist act.
While Chaarani and Mohamed today denounced IS, Abbas begged for mercy.
“Their method is rubbish,” Mohamed told the court.
“This is not right, this is not who I want to be. Now I hate them, anyone who follows them is only going to go to jail or get killed.
“There is no martyrdom in ISIS,” he said.
Mohamed said he had become attracted to the ideology of IS, and despite being scared, had been prepared to blow himself up in a terror attack.
The terror trio were co-conspirators of Ibrahim Abbas, the older brother of Hamza, who confessed to wanting to slaughter scores of innocent Victorians as payback for Australia’s war on Islamic State.
He planned to stage the attack around Federation Square, with St Paul’s Cathedral and Flinders St Station identified as possible attack sites.
Ibrahim pleaded guilty to planning an attack while his three co-offenders denied any involvement before being convicted by a jury.
In their attack the group planned to slaughter people with machetes and detonate bombs strapped to their bodies.
The men purchased chemicals, explosive substances, and other components to make a bomb, bought bladed weapons and conducted reconnaissance in the CBD.
They had practised making bombs with materials bought from Bunnings, Chemist Warehouse and Boating Camping and Fishing.
Felicity Gerry, QC, for Hamza Abbas told Justice Christopher Beale today her “childish” client deserved the court’s sympathy when it came to sentencing.
Outlining his plea in mitigation Ms Gerry said she knew it would be hard for the public to accept someone convicted of such serious offending deserved sympathy, but said he stood apart from his co-accused.
She said her “childish and child-like” client was merely a follower who had been influenced by his brother.
“He was duped, to an extent, about the whole of the plan,” Ms Gerry said.
“He wasn’t privy to all the details.”
Justice Beale said he didn’t accept the submission, saying evidence given by his older brother seemed tailored to try and exonerate his little brother.
But Ms Gerry, who dubbed her client an idiot during his trial then later apologised because the evidence was that he was actually a “fishbrain”, insisted he had a very limited knowledge of the deadly plot.
“This defendant appears in a very different category from frankly anyone else that normally comes before these courts,” she said.
“Of course it is offending that puts fear into the minds of the public.
“He is someone who...in our submission falls into the category of someone used and abused.
“He is someone who’s worthy of sympathy,” she said.
Patrick Tehan, QC, on behalf of Chaarani, said he was instructed to tell the court his client: “categorically renounces any adherence to the ideology of ISIS”.
The group were arrested on December 22, 2016, after months of surveillance by anti-terror police.
At the time authorities feared an attack was imminent.
Ibrahim, who told the court of his plan in chilling detail, had urged the group to act by Christmas Day of that year.
“I wanted to make sure that the casualties would be high. The bigger the better,” he said.
“The bigger the more terror is achieved, and that’s the point.”
Ibrahim said he was prepared to die for his belief saying: “The whole point of jihad is martyrdom.”
MORE LAW AND ORDER
NO CHARGES OVER LABOR’S ‘RED SHIRTS’ RORT
EX-STUDENT SUES ELITE SCHOOL OVER ‘MEAN GIRLS’ BULLYING
Sentencing Ibrahim last year Justice Tinney said his planned attack would have had catastrophic consequences.
“It would have been, as was your intention, a crime which would shock this country to the core,” he said.
Ibrahim was jailed for 24 years, with a 20 year non parole period.
Chaarani and Mohamed are already serving 17 year minimum jail terms for firebombing a Melbourne mosque.