Kill threats from prison
Guilty plea to 6 more counts
A PRISONER who previously threatened to kill Australians with spider and snake venom when writing to Scott Morrison has issued more threats to kill members of the public.
Ali Jawar Jalal, 34, faced Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to six counts of making threats to kill members of the public from Barwon Prison.
Charge sheets reveal Jalal issued the threats to police and jail staff as recently as last month, with others in October, November and December last year.
Jalal, who has been locked up since 2013, was charged by Victoria Police’s security intelligence unit that is dedicated to stamping out “violent extremism”.
He appeared in court self-represented via video link from a Melbourne prison, and said he was “not interested” in seeking legal advice ahead of his County Court hearing this month.
On Friday, Magistrate Ann McGarvie ruled there was enough evidence against Jalal to support a conviction.
Jalal faced the County Court in September last year, when he pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and using a postal or similar service to menace, harass or offend.
On that occasion the County Court heard Jalal penned the letters to various organisations and people, including political leaders, in 2018 and 2019.
One letter was sent to the Prime Minister’s electorate office, where a staff member uncovered Jalal’s threat to use venom from snakes and spiders to kill Australians.
Last year the County Court heard authorities were concerned enough to obtain a statement from a University of Melbourne expert, who said turning venom into a weapon was unlikely but not impossible.
The court was told Jalal, an Australian citizen born in Iraq, tried to send a letter marked with a bloodstained fingerprint to police, stating his intention to kill an officer once freed.
He sent further letters to counter terrorism detectives, then federal Immigration Minister David Coleman and multiple police agencies.
He also mailed a notebook to clinicians in the prison outlining plots to capture and kill police, and to establish an Islamic state in Bali.
Jalal told police he never intended to carry out the threats but sent the letters because he felt unfairly treated in prison. He will return to the County Court on March 17.
A WHITTINGTON man accused of murdering his younger brother will be assessed by a psychologist with a specialised understanding of how the brain impacts behaviour.
Haig Arslanian, 39, who appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday, will be assessed on Monday before he returns to court in August.
At his next court date, it is likely a magistrate will decide if there is enough evidence to send Mr Arslanian’s case to the Supreme Court.
Mr Arslanian, who is accused of murdering his brother David, 31, on October 5 in a Whittington home, appeared via video link from a Melbourne prison for Friday’s short hearing.
Haig Arslanian, who wore a green prison jumper and had a long beard, is also accused of cultivating and trafficking cannabis, and possessing three samurai swords, two butterfly knives, flick knives, metal knuckle dusters and cartridge ammunition without a licence.
He did not enter pleas to any of the charges at the hearing.
His lawyer, Michael Brugman, told the court “significant material” had been uncovered on his client’s “justice” file that would be given to the psychologist who assessed him.
During a hearing in October, the court heard Mr Arslanian had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and required medication for the condition.
Mr Arslanian, whose parents were in court on Friday, was arrested hours after the alleged murder when heavily armed tactical police swooped on a home in Bennett Court, Leopold.
On Friday, the court heard a brief of evidence had been filed with the court electronically and a summary of what occurred during the alleged murder was yet to be finalised.
Haig Arslanian is due to face court again on August 6.
David Arslanian was an awardwinning butcher at Belmont Fine Meats and Poultry.