SYDNEY: An Australian judge on Wednesday issued a rare order restricting the movements of an extremist when he is released from a Sydney prison after serving 12 years for a terrorism-related conviction.
Police applied for the control order against former Qantas cabin cleaner and online publisher Belal Saadallah Khazaal before he is released from prison this weekend.
Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney made the order, but the conditions and his reasons will not be made public until sensitive information is redacted from the judgment.
Khazaal was 39 in 2008 when he was found guilty by a New South Wales state Supreme Court jury of making a document connected with assisting a terrorist act.
The online book, which described itself as a “practical guide to achieving martyrdom,” included advice on assassination techniques and listed countries to be targeted, including Australia.
Control orders were created under counterterrorism legislation in 2005 to protect the public from extremist acts. Orders have been issued against seven people since then.
Restrictions can include a curfew at a home address, wearing an electronic monitoring device, limits to use of telecommunications and regular reporting to police.
Khazaal, the former editor of “Call to Islam” magazine, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with a non-parole period of nine years. The term expires on Sunday.