I’m evil no more: Abdul Nacer Benbrika’s first interview after prison release

Speaking exclusively to the Herald Sun, Australia’s most notorious terrorist says the public has “nothing to worry about” following his release from prison.

Australia’s most notorious terrorist has broken his silence, claiming he is a changed man and Australians should no longer be afraid of him.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald Sun following his release from prison, Abdul Nacer Benbrika and his loved ones said their family was “just like any other”.

Speaking publicly for the first time after more than 15 years behind bars for plotting to blow up the MCG, Benbrika told this masthead: “I’ve thought about it and I have learned a huge lesson”.

“People should know that Nacer (himself) is not what he was,” he said.

Benbrika said his message to those who were losing sleep over his release from prison: “Listen, just sleep. Don’t worry about it, you nothing to worry about from him (Benbrika) now”.

Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika at his home in Dallas. Picture: David Crosling

Benbrika’s younger son said he wanted people to know that they were a regular family who were grateful to be reunited.

“It’s completely different now. We just want to tell people we are like any other family,” he said.

He said loved ones have rallied around his father, with the family hosting several gatherings since his Benbrika walked out of Barwon prison flanked by relatives on December 19.

“We’re just happy as a family. “It’s great. It has been a long time,” he said.

Benbrika spent 15 years behind bars for conspiring to attack the MCG on Grand Final Day, Melbourne’s rail network and Crown Casino in 2005.

Benbrika says he’s still adjusting to life on the outside. Picture: David Crosling

But an ongoing detention order kept him behind bars for another three years after his sentence ended amid fears he still posed an “unacceptable” risk to the community.

Benbrika was released from prison into the care of his wife and son, 23-year-old Ibrahim Benbrika, who is facing charges for allegedly trying to take an imitation pistol onto an aircraft.

Speaking from his Dallas home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Benbrika said he was slowly getting used to life as a free man.

“After 18 years, it’s an adjustment,” he said.

“It’s from zero to the complete opposite.

“There are different places, different people and different things. It’s totally different.”

“I still need time to be able to absorb all this, after that amount of time.”

The Benbrika household remained a hive of activity amid the terror leader’s release.

Scores of relatives and friends descended on the home for celebratory lunches and dinners.

Benbrika’s lawyer Isabelle Skaburskis also attended lunch with her client at the house.

The federal government did not contest Benbrika’s release, instead placing him under a strict extended supervision order, limiting who he can contact, where he can go and who is allowed to visit the family home.

Under the 30 conditions of the ESO, he must wear a tracking device and is banned from sending any mail.

Benbrika says the public has nothing to fear following his release. 2023. Picture: David Crosling

He must also reside at his Dallas home with his wife and four of his children, including sons Bakr and Oussama, who have ties with convicted terrorists and underworld figures including gangster Ahmed Elomar.

The terror leader’s release last month ignited fierce debate about whether the bomb plotter had reformed.

A leading national security think tank said it was “highly unlikely” that Benbrika was no longer a public threat, while terrorism expert Greg Barton said the Muslim cleric had likely realised his extremist ideals were futile.

But Victorian Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth ruled that he was a low enough risk to public safety to be released under the ESO while continuing to attend a deradicalisation program.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said that the Commonwealth’s application to release Benbrika under the ESO with advice from authorities including police “was the strongest possible action under law”.