Print this page Three men charged in terror raid Cameron Stewart and Richard Kerbaj 01apr06
THREE Victorian men were arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences last night as part of the joint police and ASIO investigation into alleged terror cells in Sydney and Melbourne. The three men were taken into custody late yesterday afternoon and were questioned about possible links to the alleged cells. The Weekend Australian understands the men to be Bassam Raad, Majed Raad and Shoue Hammoud. They were charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, which can carry up to 10 years' jail, and intentionally making funds available to a terrorist organisation. Two of the men were also charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. They have been remanded in custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday. Bassam and Majed Raad are understood to be devotees of alleged terror cell leader and self-styled radical Islamic cleric Nacer Benbrika, who was one of 19 Sydney and Melbourne men arrested in November in the nation's biggest counter-terrorism operation. Majed was arrested at his home in the northern Melbourne suburb on Coburg while having dinner at 5.30pm yesterday. His wife was in tears as her husband was taken away in handcuffs. "His mother is really upset," a relative told The Weekend Australian in Arabic. Bassam and Majed were charged over a scuffle with the media outside a Melbourne court late last year after a hearing for some of the 10 Melbourne terror suspects who had been arrested days earlier in the joint state and federal police raids. Mr Hammoud is a father in his 20s who plays Australian football for a club in Coburg. A friend last night described him as "a smiling, friendly person who never seemed angry and did not talk about politics". An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman confirmed that a "joint AFP/Victoria Police counter-terror team has taken three men into custody". ASIO officers were also involved in the operation. The AFP yesterday laid an extra 22 charges against the 10 Melbourne men who were arrested in November in Operation Pendennis. Ahmed Raad was charged with collecting funds that could be used to facilitate or engage in a terrorist act. This carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The new charges came as one of the accused men was humiliated by being left in a cell in his underwear. Melbourne Magistrates Court heard that Abdulla Merhi, 20, and other terror suspects had a dispute with guards about what they should wear to court. Rob Stary, representing Mr Merhi and seven other defendants, said the accused had been in jail for six months and their civilian clothes were soiled and musty. They asked if they could attend in their prison garb but were refused permission. Mr Stary said that in the course of the dispute, Mr Merhi was left in a cell in his underwear for up to an hour. "Obviously, there was a sense of degradation and humiliation on his part," he told the court. One of the four accused in court was Mr Benbrika, 46, who is charged with directing a terrorist organisation. Before magistrate Paul Smith entered the court, Mr Benbrika silenced the room. "This life is very short," he said. "Everyone is going to die but the best of us ..." Additional reporting: Natalie O'Brien, Padraic Murphy privacy terms © The Australian Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
