Trio guilty of Melbourne Christmas terror plot

The men found guilty of conspiracy to prepare a Christmas Day terror attack smiled while their verdicts were read.

Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullah Chaarani and Hamza Abbas. Court Sketch: Jeff Hayes

Three men have been found guilty of planning a jihadi-inspired mass casualty terror attack in Melbourne’s Federation Square at Christmas in 2016.

A Supreme Court jury took six and a half days to deliver its verdict in the trial of Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullah Chaarani and Hamza Abbas, finding they had conspired with a fourth man, Ibrahim Abbas, to plan a terror attack in Melbourne’s CBD.

The three men laughed and smiled at each other as the verdicts were read.

The guilty verdicts were handed down on November 2 after a 10-week trial. A suppression order on the outcome of the case was lifted today.

Ibrahim Abbas, who is Chaarani’s cousin and Hamza’s brother, had pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in February and gave evidence in the trial as a prosecution witness.

The court heard the four men had attempted to make improvised explosive devices and had bought machetes in preparation for carrying out the attack where they sought to “maximise casualties”.

The trial heard evidence Mohamed bought seven boxes of Ramset power load cartridges, which contain explosive charges used to drive nails into concrete.

Prosecutors also played to the jury CCTV footage of Mohamed purchasing hydrogen peroxide from a Chemist Warehouse with Hamza Abbas.

Abbas told police following his arrest that he thought the chemical would be used to treat warts.

The court heard extensive evidence of extremist materials recovered from Chaarani and Mohamed’s phones.

Chaarani’s phone contained copies of Dabiq magazines which referred to the Melbourne terror attack by Numan Haider and the Lindt Siege.

In issue six, there was a reference to Man Haron Monis, describing him as a Muslim who resolved to join the mujahidin of Islamic State and acted alone “striking the kuffar where it would hurt them most”.

Mohamed’s phone contained videos with images of people being beheaded, shot and set on fire in a cage, bloodied and dead children and a prisoner with an explosive device around his neck that is then detonated, decapitating him.

The court heard Chaarani and Ibrahim Abbas purchased two machetes at Boating, Camping and Fishing.

The four men organised to meet at the Hume Islamic Youth Centre on December 20 before heading to Federation Square on a reconnaissance trip of their intended target.

The following day police secretly recorded a conversation between Mohamed and Ibrahim Abbas where Mohamed repeatedly said he was “shitting bricks”.

Mohamed however went on to say he was “not backing down … I’m just worrying bro”.

The two also discussed strapping Mohamed’s wife with an explosive device.

“Strap her and just drop her,” Mohamed said.

“Drop her off and go.”

Abaas rejected the idea.

“What if it doesn’t blow up on her, she gets caught?” he said.

“See it’s different if we get caught, but if she gets caught. If she gets caught her-what’s-it called, her honour is gunna get touched.”

Ibrahim Abbas was recorded talking about the machete purchased earlier.

“I am in my house and I miss my sword bro,” he said.

“I just wanna hold it. I don’t want to let it go bro. It’s like a part of me now.”

A police officer gave evidence Chaarani urged police to make him a martyr when he was arrested with Mohamed.

The officer told the court Chaarani was telling federal police: “You could have made me a martyr. Go on, make me a martyr.”

Minutes before as police pointed guns at the car containing the men Chaarani was captured on a secret microphone telling his passenger: “F..k these guys are serious bro.”

Police uncovered a red tub at Chaarani’s house containing more than 800 match heads and 400 sparklers, a piece of pipe and two taps.

On October 10 he had used his phone to search for ingredients of sparkles, fire sparklers and ingredients of fire sparklers.

Following his arrest Hamza Abbas described himself to police as a “fishbrain” and questioned why he was being charged with terrorism.

“It’s very dumb, yeah, there’s no point,” he said.

“What’s the point of it? It’s just causing more mess — massacre and stuff, you know.”

Prosecutor Nick Papas QC however had argued that Hamza Abbas “is not just a dupe”.