A Logan man with violent extremist ideology was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison.
His non-parole period will be three years.
Queensland and federal police had charged the man with terrorism related offences.
The 43-year-old man, who has been in police custody since 2022, held a senior role in a Brisbane-based group with violent extremist ideology and expressed a desire to engage in fighting on the side of Islamic State terrorists in Syria.
In 2013, the Logan man, who is an Australian citizen, gave money to a person who flew from Australia to Syria to engage in terrorist activities there.
Between March 2019 and February 2020, the man posted videos on social media, in Arabic and English, urging his followers to support Islamic State terrorists by sending weapons to fighters and joining the fight themselves.
In June 2019, the Logan man left Australia. Almost two years later, in March 2021, he was taken into custody by police in Saudi Arabia, who deported him to Australia four months later. Upon his arrival at Sydney airport, the man was arrested by Queensland’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT).
Earlier this week, on 22 August, a jury found him guilty of six counts of advocating for terrorism and acquitted him of two. He pleaded guilty to a seventh charge as part of a plea deal with the court in February this year.
In June 2022, police arrested the man who breached his bail conditions by cutting off his tracking bracelet and attempting to leave Australia on a one-way flight to Oman.
Federal police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said the Queensland JCTT, an agency that includes Queensland police, federal police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said the relevant agencies would continue to disrupt terrorist related acts to keep Australians safe.
“Joint counter-terrorism teams across the country continue to identify and charge individuals who advocate for others to commit terrorism offences,” Mr Nutt said.
“The AFP’s number one priority will always be to keep Australians safe from those who seek to do them harm, and there is no place in civil society for people who incite others to engage in violence.”
