A Supreme Court judge has granted bail to a Sydney teenager accused of terrorism and branded the case against him as “thin”, in a bruising ruling for the Australian Federal Police.
The 15-year-old was among six boys arrested in sweeping police raids on an alleged Sydney terrorist network in April, after another teenager stabbed an Assyrian Orthodox bishop in a church in Wakeley, in the city’s west.
Four of those boys are accused of planning a terrorist attack in the wake of the stabbing, allegedly plotting to obtain guns and exchanging messages about their willingness to kill and die as so-called martyrs.
The 15-year-old was part of a chat group called “Plans”, on the encrypted messaging app Signal, where they allegedly conspired to plan a terrorist act between April 18 and 24.
The boy, who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, allegedly wrote: “I really want to target the yahood [Jewish people] … we will plan it”.
In another message, he allegedly said: “I really wanna do an attack now … because I have so much hatred for these kuffar [nonbelievers] it’s not funny and I wanna do jihad now.”
But late yesterday afternoon, NSW Supreme Court Judge Deborah Sweeney questioned whether Crown prosecutors could prove the boy had agreed to plan for an act of terrorism or had done “any overt act in support of that agreement beyond talking”.
“It’s clear this young person expresses violent views,” Justice Sweeney said.
“He talks in concerning ways, but … the [police] facts statement seems a bit thin. In my view, the Crown case does not appear strong.”
Despite his “violent intentions”, she said the public would be safer if he was released from youth detention, put under house arrest and treated for his “mental health and self-esteem issues”.
“If those issues are treated, community safety will be enhanced, especially in what will be a long period of two years or so until his trial,” Justice Sweeney said.
She said the need for psychological treatment was among the “exceptional circumstances” justifying bail, including his age, the long time to trial and the “lack of strength of the prosecution case”.
Sitting in the public gallery, the boy’s father burst into tears when the judge announced her decision, while the teenager watched the proceedings via video link from youth detention.
The 15-year-old’s parents had watched silently as the court heard of their struggles to manage his behavioural issues since kindergarten.
His barrister, Avni Djemal SC, described him as “a troubled kid” with a disrupted education, who was “neglected a lot” as a young child when a sibling died in hospital from illness.
Justice Sweeney described them as “dedicated, concerned parents” who had done their best to provide him with an education despite “significantly disrupted schooling”.
Under stringent conditions, the teenager is banned from leaving home without his parents and from possessing or using mobile phones, smart devices, internet devices and encrypted communications.
The court heard police uncovered the Signal chat group in April after arresting the boy and another alleged terror plotter over an alleged attack on a bottle shop owner in Lurnea in south-west Sydney.
Crown prosecutors opposed bail, arguing community protection was at risk and saying his parents had struggled “to no avail” to manage the teenager’s behaviour.
Prosecutor Rebekah Rodger said the boy’s behavioural issues had continued in detention, where Youth Justice NSW officials reported he was fighting with other inmates.
The court heard Youth Justice NSW officials found no basis to the boy’s claims that inmates had threatened to stab him.
The court also heard the teenager’s terrorism risk was low, provided he was not in contact with others who could influence him and who he wanted to impress, according to a report by youth extremism expert Peta Lowe.
The 15-year-old at the beginning of May made an unsuccessful bid for bail in Parramatta Children’s Court. His three alleged co-conspirators remain behind bars.
They were arrested as part of Operation Mingary, an investigation into an alleged Sydney terrorist network by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes the AFP, NSW Police, ASIO, and the NSW Crime Commission.
Another two boys, aged 14 and 16, were charged with possessing extremist material, including Islamic State videos of beheadings. Those boys have both been granted conditional bail.
Under the Commonwealth Crimes Act, the judge was required to consider the protection of the community as “paramount”, while treating the best interests of the juvenile as a “primary” consideration, in determining bail.
The 15-year-old’s legal team argued community safety would be improved if the boy could receive an “intense regime of treatment” while under house arrest.
Sydney solicitor Ahmed Dib, who is representing the teenager, declined to comment.
The court heard the investigation is continuing.
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