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Jihad Jack' guilty in Melbourne
An Australian man who changed his name to Jihad Jack has been convicted of receiving funds from al-Qaeda.
Jack Thomas, a Muslim convert, was found guilty of accepting $3,500 (Ô�Å¡£2,000) and a plane ticket home from an al-Qaeda agent in Pakistan.
A Melbourne court heard that Thomas had visited al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan shortly before the 9/11 attacks.
He is the first Australian to be charged under laws on the funding of terrorism passed in 2002.
'No terrorist'
The 32-year-old former taxi driver could face up to 25 years in jail when he is sentenced by the Supreme Court in the next few days.
He was als
o found guilty of possessing a false passport, but he was found not guilty of intentionally providing resources for al-Qaeda.
The prosecution alleged that Thomas trained in al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan before moving to Pakistan.
Thomas, who is married and has three children, was arrested in November 2004 upon his return to Australia.
He says he accepted the money and plane ticket because he wanted to return home and had no intention of becoming an al-Qaeda operative.
Despite the conviction, his lawyers were pleased he was acquitted of the more serious charges relating to supporting a terrorist organisation.
"As we have always known, Jack had nothing to answer for with these charges," said his father, Ian.
Thomas is one of 24 men charged under anti-terror legislation introduced in Australia in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Jihad Jack' guilty in Melbourne
An Australian man who changed his name to Jihad Jack has been convicted of receiving funds from al-Qaeda.
Jack Thomas, a Muslim convert, was found guilty of accepting $3,500 (Ô�Å¡£2,000) and a plane ticket home from an al-Qaeda agent in Pakistan.
A Melbourne court heard that Thomas had visited al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan shortly before the 9/11 attacks.
He is the first Australian to be charged under laws on the funding of terrorism passed in 2002.
'No terrorist'
The 32-year-old former taxi driver could face up to 25 years in jail when he is sentenced by the Supreme Court in the next few days.
He was als
o found guilty of possessing a false passport, but he was found not guilty of intentionally providing resources for al-Qaeda.
The prosecution alleged that Thomas trained in al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan before moving to Pakistan.
Thomas, who is married and has three children, was arrested in November 2004 upon his return to Australia.
He says he accepted the money and plane ticket because he wanted to return home and had no intention of becoming an al-Qaeda operative.
Despite the conviction, his lawyers were pleased he was acquitted of the more serious charges relating to supporting a terrorist organisation.
"As we have always known, Jack had nothing to answer for with these charges," said his father, Ian.
Thomas is one of 24 men charged under anti-terror legislation introduced in Australia in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
