Sydney terrorist Ahmed Merhi’s plea for legal aid rejected by Australian Government

The Australian Government refused to pay Sydney terrorist Ahmed Merhi’s legal fees under new laws, in a case which ultimately saw the jihadist ordered to face the hangman’s noose.

Exclusive: The Australian Government refused to pay Sydney terrorist Ahmed Merhi’s legal fees, in a case which ultimately saw the Islamic State jihadist ordered to face the hangman’s noose.

News Corp Australia can reveal Attorney-General Christian Porter used new laws introduced last year to twice refuse Merhi’s plea for legal assistance.

Previously, Australians facing the death penalty abroad were virtually guaranteed taxpayer-funded help to pay their legal bills, regardless of their crimes.

Those who benefited included drug traffickers Schapelle Corby in Indonesia and “Cocaine’’ Cassie Sainsbury, in Colombia.

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Sydney man Ahmed Merhi poses for a selfie in a photo uploaded to his Facebook on April 12, 2015.

But in July, the Government clamped down after learning bureaucrats had handed more than

$500,000 to pay for lawyers for vile Australian paedophile Peter Scully in the Philippines.

The law change saw the Attorney-General appointed the ultimate decision-maker, and gave more scope for the Government to refuse to pay the legal bills of people accused of particularly heinous crimes.

When Merhi, a 27-year-old prominent Islamic State cheerleader and member of a dangerous cell of Australia jihadis, put his hand out for taxpayer assistance, his request was denied.

Mr Porter’s spokesman declined to comment, saying privacy considerations meant it would not

confirm who it had or had not provided legal assistance to.

But News Corp Australia understands Merhi twice lodged a claim for taxpayer legal assistance last year, and was twice refused.

Attorney-General Christian Porter used new laws introduced last year to twice refuse Ahmed Merhi’s plea for legal assistance. Picture: AAP

Baghdad lawyer Khaldoon al-Kinani told News Corp Australia he had been approached to represent Merhi through a friend who had connections to the Australian Embassy in Baghdad.

He took the case but said the embassy then refused to pay him.

“I never got paid. I am a private lawyer. I even paid the court fees, I had to pay myself,’’ he said.

“We contacted the embassy and asked them to pay up. They said they would talk to Sydney.’’

Mr al-Kinani said he had requested payment of $US30,000, (about $45,500 in Australian currency) from the embassy, and was rejected, so he dropped the price to $US18,000 (about $25,500).

“They said ‘go ahead with the case, we will talk to the (Australian) government’,’’ he said.

“The embassy told us ‘we will pay,’ then came a ‘no’.

Khaldoon al-Kinani is a Baghdad lawyer who represented Ahmed Merhi but was never paid. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

Mr al-Kinani said he had been given a number by the embassy for Merhi’s mother in Sydney and had spoken to her.

He said Merhi had a wife and a child who he believed were still being held in Syria at a refugee camp.

The child is entitled to Australian citizenship.

Merhi previously told News Corp Australia his wife was also Australian.

Mr al-Kinani said Australia had never sought to extradite Merhi, who is believed to be the subject of a warrant and is wanted in Australia on terrorism charges.

“They said ‘no, we will not intervene, we will let justice take its course’,’’ he said.

Schapelle Corby received legal aid in Indonesia paid by the Australian Government. Picture: AAP

Mr al-Kinani said he appeared before the courts four or five times to represent Merhi, who was captured in Syria in late 2017 trying to flee as the Islamic State caliphate collapsed, and was taken to Iraq to face trial.

He did not regret taking the case because he considered it “a humanitarian case’’ but asked for

assistance in getting his bills paid.

He also confirmed he was no longer representing Merhi in his appeal against the death penalty, which could take two years to resolve.

“My work with him stopped at the criminal court,’’ he said.

Merhi, who lost a leg in an air strike and is being held in a cramped cell with 14 other prisoners, once delighted in his role with Islamic State, posting selfies wearing military fatigues and brandishing guns.

“Cocaine” Cassandra Sainsbury received legal representation in Colombia paid for by the Australian Government. Picture: Vanessa Hunter/ The Australian

He is wanted by police in Australia, who say he was involved with a network of extremists

including those responsible for the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng in Sydney.

The decision by the Government not to pay his legal bills, despite him facing the death penalty if convicted, is the first case to emerge since the Coalition made changes to the Commonwealth guidelines for legal financial assistance, which governs whether people facing criminal charges overseas can receive financial help from the taxpayer for their legal bills.

The new clause introduced for death penalty cases in July meant Mr Porter would have had to

consider the circumstances in which Merhi left Australia, and the “nature and gravity’’ of the charges he was facing in Iraq.

Originally published as Sydney terrorist Ahmed Merhi’s plea for legal aid rejected by Australian Government