Mohammad Junaid Thorne denied parole on drug dealing charges after jail letters emerge

A radical Muslim preacher who spent much of his time in custody penning letters to fellow prisoners has had his chances of being released on parole dashed. See his explosive list of jail pen pals.

Mohammad Junaid Thorne fronts court in Sydney in 2015 to be sentenced for boarding a flight from Perth to Sydney using a fake name.

A radical Islamic preacher in jail on drug supply charges has been refused parole after it was revealed he was regularly writing to as many as ten convicted terrorists and still holds extremist beliefs.

Mohammad Junaid Thorne’s close links to the imprisoned extremists came to light when the self-styled sheik, who formerly held prayer meetings in his home and once told the ABC it was his destiny to become a counter-terrorism target, made a bid for parole earlier this year.

Thorne was being watched by a terrorism task force in 2018 when he was caught selling $100,000 worth of cocaine and MDMA to an undercover police officer, and was sentenced to nine years jail including five years and six months without parole.

His application to be freed was recently rejected by the NSW State Parole Authority on account of his ongoing links to violent extremism.

The authority noted in its 14-page judgment that Thorne had used Goulburn jail’s internal post system to correspond with a host of convicted terrorists, including Talal Alameddine, Milad Atai and Mustafa Dirani, all of whom are serving lengthy sentences for their involvement in the shooting murder of accountant Curtis Cheng outside police headquarters in Parramatta in 2015.

Thorne, a self-proclaimed Islamic sheik, at a 2015 court appearance. Picture: Britta Campion

The judgment revealed Thorne is also in regular letter contact with Omar Al-Kutobi and Mohammad Kiad, who were both imprisoned in 2016 for conspiring to bomb a Shiite prayer hall in Granville, and Bourhan Hraichie, who was serving a sentence for planning a terrorist attack on Australian soil when he famously carved an Islamic State-inspired slogan into his cellmate’s forehead.

While no express support for terrorism was found in the letters, an analysis by religious extremism expert Dr Joshua Roose found their contents still reflected Thorne’s strong belief in the fundamentalist ideology he’d previously supported.

The judgement also outlined the now 38-year-old was linked to multiple organisations that championed Islamic State, and had advocated support online and in person for several terrorism figures including Numan Haider, an 18-year-old extremist shot dead in 2014 after trying to behead two police officers outside a Victoria police station.

Prison psychologists also provided evidence to the parole authority saying Thorne’s views on violent extremism had not changed since he entered custody and that other inmates continued to see him as “a source of religious authority”.

Thorne was identified as a “terrorism-related offender” under strengthened parole laws introduced in 2017, which require the parole authority to refuse bail unless it is satisfied the offender will not engage in, incite or assist others to commit acts of terrorism.

In refusing parole, the five-person panel, chaired by former NSW Supreme Court judge Geoffrey Bellew SC, said there was a plethora of evidence that established Thorne was at risk of committing terrorism offences if released into the community.

Mohammad Junaid Thorne pictured leaving court in 2019. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

During his sentencing on the drug charges in 2021, the court heard Thorne’s Aboriginal father had left the family when Thorne was an infant and he was raised in a strict Muslim family which included a violent stepfather.

At one point the family moved to Saudi Arabia but Thorne was deported after protesting his brother’s imprisonment on terror charges.

The court heard he started a Facebook page where he posted Islamic sermons that soon became popular among young extremists.

In 2015, Thorne spent three months in prison after flying from Perth to Sydney using a false name.

He later enrolled in university and was studying finance and law when he was arrested on the drug charges.

He told a psychologist he was struggling financially at the time and had committed the offences for money.

Thorne’s sentence is due to expire on July 30, 2028.

Thorne regularly wrote to incarcerated inmates including Isaac El Matari.

Talal Alameddine was also on Thorne’s list of jail pen pals.

Bourhan Hraichie was another convicted terrorist with whom Thorne corresponded.

Thorne’s jail pen pals:

Talal Alameddine - jailed for 14 years for possessing and supplying the gun that killed police accountant Curtis Cheng in connection with a terrorist act

Milad Atai - jailed for 38 years for aiding in the murder of Curtis Cheng and funding a terrorist organisation

Mustafa Dirani - jailed for 14 years for assisting in obtaining the gun used to kill Curtis Cheng in connection with a terrorist act

Omar Al-Kutobi and Mohammad Kiad - jailed for 16 years for conspiring to bomb a Shiite prayer hall in Granville

Mohammad Kiad and Omar Al-Kutobi pictured together prior to their arrest in 2015.

Bourhan Hraichie - jailed for 34 years for planning a terrorist attack and carving an Islamic State-inspired slogan into his cellmate’s forehead.

Tamim Khaja - jailed for 14 years for planning a lone wolf suicide bombing in western Sydney

Hamid Al Quidsi - jailed for 15 years for leading terrorist organisation “the Shura”, which plotted attacks on the NSW Supreme Court and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Radwan Dakkak - jailed for 18 months for associating with a member of a terrorist organisation.

Isaac el Matari - jailed for seven years and four months for being a member is Islamic State and planning terrorist attacks

Originally published as Mohammad Junaid Thorne denied parole on drug dealing charges after jail letters emerge