Treat jihadists with great caution

With 21 convicted terrorists due for release in the next five years and another 30 also in jail, the ­Albanese government faces a critical, potentially life-and-death decision. As reported in The Weekend Australian magazine, the government must decide whether to use the exceptional powers, legislated by the Turnbull government in 2016, to keep convicted terrorists in jail after completing their sentences. Groups such as the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Islamic Council of Victoria and some legal experts claim the laws are grossly unfair but, conscious of the risk to public safety, ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Home Affairs, for good reason, warn against repealing continuing detention orders (CDOs).

ASIO points to the case of Usman Khan, who in 2019 went on a killing spree with knives on London Bridge. Khan had earlier served eight years in jail for a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange; he went on his murderous rampage a year after his release.

In a nation that prioritises individual rights and the rule of law, detaining inmates who have served their time can feel at odds with values that the war on terror sought to protect. On the other hand, some experts believe a predisposition to commit violent acts of terrorism is incurable, regardless of what rehabilitation inmates go through in prison.

As we noted in 2016 when the laws were mooted and passed, there was little opposition across party lines or from the states. That is no surprise. The inmates due for release between now and 2027 feature some of Australia’s most notorious terrorists. They include Faheem Lodhi, sentenced to 20 years’ jail in 2006 for plotting to bomb the electricity grid and defence facilities in Sydney. Wissam Fattal, Saney Aweys and Nayef El-Sayed were jailed for plotting a mass-murder attack on ­Sydney’s Holsworthy Army Base in 2009. Abdul Benbrika, who believed Osama bin Laden was a “great man”, led Australia’s first terror cell. After serving 15 years in prison, Benbrika was due for release in November 2020 but the ­Morrison government used the 2016 law to keep him inside. Benbrika went to the High Court, claiming the power to keep him in jail was unconstitutional. The claim was dismissed and his ongoing detention was deemed legal.

Now the law is being reviewed by the Independent National ­Security Legislation Monitor, Grant Donaldson SC, who hopes to report to the government by the end of the year. The only comparable systems for keeping offenders in jail after their sentences are state-based laws for dangerous sexual offenders. As Mr Donaldson told The Weekend Australian, substantial research and evidence allows “fairly accurate’’ risk assessments to be made about sexual offenders’ potential for recidivism but “nothing like that body of research of knowledge or understanding exists in relation to violent extremism”, he said. “It is very much a new field.” That is why the government should proceed with extreme caution, taking into account the burden that monitoring convicted jihadists at large would put on security services’ resources.