Scribbled notes uncover plots
A MAN accused of planning a terrorist attack in Sydney was allegedly in possession of hand-written notes referring to an Australian Federal Police building as a target and a plan to carry out guerrilla warfare in the Blue Mountains.
Counter-terrorism officers arrested Sulayman Khalid, 20, on Wednesday after he was allegedly found with several pages of notes designed to facilitate a terrorist attack. Fairfax Media understands the notes seized by police also contained jihadi rhetoric.
A source has said the notes contained ‘‘random’’ and ‘‘crazy’’ words but did not clearly outline any clear or exact plot.
It is also understood that Khalid has told police the notes do not belong to him.
Khalid was refused bail by a Sydney court. A second man who was charged for breaching a terror-related control order, was also refused bail.
Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan said he was confident police had disrupted planned terrorist activity but would not go into details about the documents seized. ‘‘But there was enough there that gave concern to us that something was being planned, and that’s why a person was charged.
‘‘He was charged in relation to having a document that was designed to clearly facilitate an attack. Certainly, the documents talked a little bit about potential government targets and so on, and what that did, coupled with other things that were seized during the search warrant, gave us significant concern to be able to act early. There’s certainly nothing that indicates at all about any specific targets or timeframe in relation to this particular activity at all,’’ he said.
Khalid, a part-time labourer from Regents Park, came to prominence when he disrupted the SBS show Insight, storming out after he was questioned about the cancellation of his Australian passport.
Lawyer Adam Houda said outside court his client had been accused of serious offences. ‘‘My client has been charged with a very serious offence but I remind you that authorities have got it wrong in the past many times and all that we ask is that the court process be respected and for this matter to be determined on the evidence and not by politicians and the media.’’
A 21-year-old man charged with breaching a control order applied for bail before the same court but was refused.
The man and Khalid were arrested by the joint counterterrorism team as part of Operation Appleby.
In September, more than 800 police officers launched pre-dawn raids across Sydney as part of that operation.
The Australian intelligence agency put Khalid on a list with 20 other suspects accused of having ‘‘an extreme ideology’’, who were at risk of ‘‘engaging in politically motivated violence’’ if allowed to travel overseas, or had a ‘‘jihadi mentality’’ making them a threat to national security.
Khalid, who calls himself Abu Bakr after the Prophet Mohammed’s father-in-law, wore an Islamic State flag during his appearance on Insight.
Mr Khalid said he sympathised with the values of Islamic State as he was being unfairly targeted by Australians.
‘‘In order for me to be connected to the values here of Australia, the Australian government needs to stop picking on the Muslims here. Whenever you express your opinion of a tyrant, you are subjugated to being a terrorist or subjugated to being a national threat.’’
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