Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand: Control order imposed on convicted Sydney terrorist

A new control order has been imposed on convicted terrorist Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand, who has had terror sympathies and also failed to complete a deradicalisation program offered in prison.

Sydney terrorist Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand has been freed from jail.

The Federal Court has confirmed a control order against Sydney terrorist Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand, the latest in a string of such orders made against terrorists recently released from prison.

Naizmand, a member of the Appleby group of jihadis and a supporter of Islamic State, had been sentenced to four years’ jail for breaching an earlier control order.

He was released from jail in February on an interim order, which has now been confirmed by Justice Robert Bromwich in the Federal Court in Sydney, with minor amendments.

The making of the order comes at a time when the Australian Government is reviewing laws designed to keep terrorists behind bars at the completion of their sentence, amid fears they may not be able to keep dangerous jihadis Bilal Khazal and Abdul Nacer Benbrika in jail when their sentences expire later this year.

Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand is led from the cells at Burwood Local Court.

Instead of continuing detention orders, the Australian Federal Police are turning to control orders, which are time-consuming and expensive to monitor.

Naizmand was part of a group of young men with terrorist sympathies in Sydney, whose passport was cancelled in 2013 amid fears he would to travel to the Middle East to become a foreign fighter.

In 2014 he used his brother’s passport to travel and was intercepted in Dubai and sent home, where he was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

In 2015, he was placed on a control order amid concerns he retained extremist views.

In 2016, he was found to have breached the control order on five occasions by viewing Islamic State propaganda videos or electronic media depicting or describing explosives, suicide attacks, bombings or terror attacks, and sentenced to four years’ jail.

In making the interim control order in February, Justice Bromwich noted that Naizmand had “maintained frequent contact with associates, including family members, who hold extremist views, have been convicted of terrorism offences or have links to other extremists; asserted that Sharia law should be the law of Australia, and considers Islam superior to other ways of life.’’

He also failed to complete the PRISM deradicalisation program offered in the NSW jail.

Naizmand’s orders, among other restrictions, prevent him leaving his home between the hours of 10pm and 5pm, attending at any international airport, associating with 22 other individuals including known terrorists Mehmet Biber and Hamdi Alqudsi, and using various digital platforms such as KIK, WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram.

Originally published as Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand: Control order imposed on convicted Sydney terrorist