Alleged Melbourne jihad plot targeted disbelievers, court told
Three Islamists who planned a Christmas terror spree in Melbourne hoped for maximum casualties, a court has heard.
Three men motivated by extremist Islamic ideology allegedly planned to launch a violent jihad in Melbourne at Christmas 2016, seeking to inflict maximum casualties on “disbelievers” and die as martyrs and enter paradise, a court has heard.
Ahmed Mohamed, 25, Abdullah Chaarani, 27, and Hamza Abbas, 23, went on trial in the Victorian Supreme Court today charged with conspiracy to do an act or acts in preparation for a terrorist act or acts targeting Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and St Paul’s Cathedral on Christmas Day, 2016.
Prosecutors allege the men purchased metal pipes from Bunnings in Broadmeadows, hydrogen peroxide from Chemist Warehouse, and light globes and batteries to make “improvised explosive devices”.
In his opening address prosecutor Nick Papas QC played a video of the three accused at Federation Square in December 2016.
He said prosecutors allege the men were planning an attack in Melbourne “where people gathered, where people congregated to maximise casualties” in the Christmas-New Year period.
He told the court the video showed the men conducting reconnaissance of the “target area” of Federation Square, Flinders St and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Mr Papas said the crown alleged the conspirators were driven by a religious ideology “to wage violent jihad against those they believed to be disbelievers” known as “kafirs”.
“The crown case is that each of them followed an extremism branch of Sunni Islam,” he said.
“According to this ideology, Australia is one of the group of Western countries regarded as enemies.”
He added it was expected “the terrorist act would also result in the death of the accused”, which meant “they would ascend to paradise as a martyr”.
Footage was shown to jurors of the men on the steps of Federation Square, which the Crown alleges was a “reconnoitre”.
Mr Papas said the men planned for a terrorist act at the central location where people gathered “to maximise casualties”.
The trial, which is expected to take up to 10 weeks, continues.
Additional reporting: AAP
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