Attorney-General releases convicted terrorist Mohamed Al Maouie without supervision

A terrorist who spent eight years in jail for his part in a plot to wage ‘gorilla’ warfare in the Blue Mountains and kill police officers is set to be released from prison on Friday with no control order.

A Supermax cell inside Goulburn Correctional Centre. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

A terrorist who spent eight years in jail for his part in a plot to kill police officers and wage “gorilla” (sic) warfare in the Blue Mountains is set to be released from prison on Friday with no control order, sparking fears his unmonitored release could pose a danger to the community.

Mohamed Al Maouie, who at the time of his offending was inspired by Islamic State and al-Qa’ida-like ideology, is set to be released from the maximum security Macquarie Correction Centre on Friday morning following the expiration of his sentence.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is responsible for applying for various orders designed to protect the community when a high-risk terrorist offender is released into the community, has not applied for a continuing detention order or a supervision order in advance for Al Maouie.

The Australian can reveal another convicted terrorist, Belal Betka, was released on Monday without any control orders. Betka, who pleaded guilty to engaging in hostile activity in a foreign country, was sentenced in 2020 to a maximum of three years and eight months after travelling to war-torn Syria to join Islamic State “to do humanitarian work”.

The Attorney-General also withdrew an application for an extended supervision order of convicted terrorist Youssef Uweinat after a court denied an application for an interim supervision order.

Uweinat, who was released in November, touted Islamic State propaganda and called for the “head of every tyrant”. The Australian understands that due to the denial of the interim order there was no lawful basis to make a further application.

Opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash questioned whether Australians could trust the Albanese government to handle the risk of terrorism and violent extremism, especially leading into Christmas.

“It is inexplicable why the Attorney-General has not applied for either a continuing detention order or extended supervision order. He needs to immediately explain to the Australian people the reasons for his inaction,” Senator Cash said.

“There is now a clear pattern of behaviour from this government. In just the past three weeks we’ve learned that the government has bungled a series of separate terrorist cases.

“How many more convicted terrorists will be released into the Australian community?”

A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General told The Australian “at all times, the Attorney-General applies for post-sentence orders in accordance with the legislative framework”.

“In partnership with states and territories, the Albanese government’s utmost priority is ensuring community safety. The government acts on advice from law enforcement agencies, including the Australian Federal Police.”

It is understood the government – following consultation with agencies including the AFP – believed there was no lawful basis for seeking post-sentence orders for Al Maouie and Betka.

The release of the men comes as Islamic terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who plotted terror attacks in two states, was released from a Victorian prison on Tuesday after 18 years behind bars. A strict extended supervision order applies to Benbrika.

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

Al Maouie, who previously committed to “violent jihad” and was found to have “terrorist images” such as executions, ISIS flags, weapons and Australians associated with terrorism, pleaded guilty to handwriting a document in which he was preparing for “gorilla warfare” and killing police in the Blue Mountains.

Along with the document Al Maouie contributed to were other documents that detailed plans to attack the Sydney headquarters of the AFP, Lithgow correctional facility and ASIO headquarters.

At the time of Al Maouie’s sentencing in November 2017, Justice Geoffrey Bellew said the charges had a “number of serious aspects”.

“The references to ‘gorilla (sic) warfare’ and ‘going to the woods and attack the dogs there’ are, in terms of their violent nature, self-explanatory. They are not meaningless words,” he said.

“Rather, they are reflective of substantial consideration having been given, not only to the method by which a terrorist attack might be carried out, but also to the target at which such an attack might be directed,” he said.

“It is self-evident that when speaking of conducting ‘warfare’ and an ‘attack’, Mohamed was referring to violent acts, the nature of which were obviously capable of inflicting considerable harm. It is also significant that in writing the words that he did, Mohamed was contemplating an attack on people. So much is clear by the use of the words ‘the dogs’, which is a clear reference to killing police ­officers,” Justice Bellew said.

Al Maouie was sentenced to nine years in prison but had his sentence reduced by one year due to the support of his mother and his custodial treatment being “more onerous” than that of general population prisoners.

While he was in custody, he was involved in a “number of incidents”, including setting fire to a prison cell and also threatening to incite further violence and threatening to set more fires in prison.

Last week, The Australian revealed a last-minute bid to impose strict rules on Al Maouie’s co-conspirator, Ibrahim Ghazzawy, nearly failed because Mr Dreyfus’s legal officers did not have a case ready until three days before he was set to go free.