MCG terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika living with son on firearms charge

Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika – who was released last week – is living under the same roof as his son who is currently before the courts on a ‘major charge’ of possessing a prohibited weapon.

Abdul Nacer Benbrika leaves Barwon Prison last week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who was released last week after almost two decades in prison, is living under the same roof as his son who is currently before the courts on a “major charge” of possessing a prohibited weapon.

Ibrahim Benbrika was stopped by authorities at Melbourne airport on January 23 after a knuckle duster was allegedly found in his possession.

Both Abdul, 63, and his son Ibrahim, 23, are now living in the same household following Abdul’s release from Barwon Prison on Tuesday after he spent 18 years behind bars for plotting terrorism acts.

The Australian can reveal Ibrahim Benbrika was arrested by officers from the Australian Federal Police after he attempted to take the knuckle duster onto an aircraft.

He was charged with “possession of prohibited weapon” by way of summons, but a warrant was issued for his arrest after he allegedly failed to appear before the court.

Following his arrest he was refused police bail and appeared before a magistrate where he was again granted bail. He first appeared before a magistrate at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on July 3, and then again on October 2.

In recent weeks Abdul Benbrika became the centre of a national debate over whether the federal government had done enough to keep him inside, and whether or not there were enough protections in place to keep the community safe.

Eventually, he was granted his freedom, but to be closely monitored within the community by way of a strict Extended Supervision Order, prohibiting who he can contact, where he can go, and that he must wear a tracking device.

However, as part of the 30 conditions of the ESO, Benbrika is now living in the same three-bedroom home owned by the Housing Department in northern Melbourne with his wife and four of his children.

The Australian Federal Police on Tuesday failed in a court application to ensure Benbrika could have no contact with two of his other sons, Bakr and Oussama, due to their association with convicted terrorists and underworld gangsters.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Elizabeth Hollingworth did not outline in her ruling why the AFP thought that Benbrika should not have contact with his children, nor their ages or where they lived.

However, in 2015, Bakr Benbrika was stopped at Melbourne airport on suspicion of planning to travel to Syria. He was also found to be a member of a small WhatsApp group with three convicted terrorists.

Between April 24, 2020, and May 7, 2020, Oussama Benbrika exchanged 36 multimedia messages, 74 text messages and two phone calls with gangster Ahmed Elomar, whose brother Mohamed died while fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and shocked the world by posing with severed heads.

In June 2018, when police stopped a car Oussama was travelling in, they discovered three copies of the Koran with bookmarks on pages that referred to “killing Shi’ites” and “enemies as livestock”.

In 2015, he faced court for a matter involving Victoria Police’s Critical Incident Response Team.

It is unclear whether this information was submitted by the AFP to Justice Hollingworth. On Tuesday, she noted the AFP evidence had been “very limited” on why Bakr and Oussama should not have contact with their father. Ibrahim Benbrika will face Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on February 6.