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The Australian Herald SunDaily
Spies live among us, court told
Elissa Hunt, chief court reporter
November 25, 2004
TERROR suspect Jack Thomas was to be Osama bin Laden's sleeper agent in Australia, a court heard yesterday.
Former taxi driver Joseph Terrence Thomas, known as Jihad Jack, met militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir and saw Bin Laden while undergoing al-Qaida training in Afghanistan, it is alleged.
Melbourne Magistrates' Court also heard claims there were other secret terror spies in Australia who had been given tasks by bin Laden.
Mr Thomas, 31, was yesterday refused bail on charges of obtaining funds from, and providing support to, terrorist organisation al-Qaida.
He is also charged with possessing a false passport.
The court yesterday heard allegations that Mr Thomas:
WAS asked by a bin Lad
en associate to check out Australian military installations.
DISCU
SSED plans for a jail break at Guantanamo Bay to free an al-Qaida member.
KNEW of al-Qaida plans to use a rocket launcher to shoot down a plane carrying the Pakistani president.
WAS given $US3500 and a plane ticket and told return to Melbourne and lay low six to 12 months before using a code to contact al-Qaida.
TRAINED for three months at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan and fought for a week against the Northern Alliance.
ALTERED his passport to hide the fact he had been in Pakistan before the September 11 terror attacks.
The court heard the allegations against Mr Thomas stemmed from his alleged confessions to Australian Federal Police while in custody in Pakistan last year.
Defence lawyer Rob Stary told the court his client denied ever being a member of al-Qaida and had renounced any links to the group.
Mr Thomas told federal police he rejected membership of al-Qaida "a
fter the a---hole said he wanted to attack Australia . . . I'm not in league with them".
Mr Stary
raised claims his client had been hooded, shackled and interrogated for 100 hours before Australian federal agents formally interviewed him in Pakistan and was denied access to a lawyer.
Prosecutor Richard Maidment told the court Mr Thomas went to Afghanistan to train for holy war at the Al Farooq camp in March 2001.
After his training he stayed in al-Qaida safe houses in Pakistan and in September 2002 met Abu Osama, who discussed a plan to break a man out of Guantanamo Bay.
In November 2002 Mr Thomas allegedly met senior al-Qaida member Khaled Bin Attash, who told him bin Laden wanted an Australian to do work for him in Australia.
The court was told Mr Thomas was told to act as a "sleeper" in Melbourne.
Mr Maidment said there were allegedly other sleepers in Australia and there was a risk those people would try to help Mr Thomas flee if he were f
reed on bail.
Convicted Australian al-Qaida plotter Jack Roche allegedly told police he and Mr Thomas met Abu Bakar Bashir in 2000.
M
r Stary argued his client should get bail, saying the case against him relied on an interview that may never be admissible in court.
But Chief Magistrate Ian Gray said Mr Thomas had not shown his case was exceptional and remanded him in custody to return to court in February.
Skara Brae,
madkins
Spies live among us, court told
Elissa Hunt, chief court reporter
November 25, 2004
TERROR suspect Jack Thomas was to be Osama bin Laden's sleeper agent in Australia, a court heard yesterday.
Former taxi driver Joseph Terrence Thomas, known as Jihad Jack, met militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir and saw Bin Laden while undergoing al-Qaida training in Afghanistan, it is alleged.
Melbourne Magistrates' Court also heard claims there were other secret terror spies in Australia who had been given tasks by bin Laden.
Mr Thomas, 31, was yesterday refused bail on charges of obtaining funds from, and providing support to, terrorist organisation al-Qaida.
He is also charged with possessing a false passport.
The court yesterday heard allegations that Mr Thomas:
WAS asked by a bin Lad
en associate to check out Australian military installations.
DISCU
SSED plans for a jail break at Guantanamo Bay to free an al-Qaida member.
KNEW of al-Qaida plans to use a rocket launcher to shoot down a plane carrying the Pakistani president.
WAS given $US3500 and a plane ticket and told return to Melbourne and lay low six to 12 months before using a code to contact al-Qaida.
TRAINED for three months at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan and fought for a week against the Northern Alliance.
ALTERED his passport to hide the fact he had been in Pakistan before the September 11 terror attacks.
The court heard the allegations against Mr Thomas stemmed from his alleged confessions to Australian Federal Police while in custody in Pakistan last year.
Defence lawyer Rob Stary told the court his client denied ever being a member of al-Qaida and had renounced any links to the group.
Mr Thomas told federal police he rejected membership of al-Qaida "a
fter the a---hole said he wanted to attack Australia . . . I'm not in league with them".
Mr Stary
raised claims his client had been hooded, shackled and interrogated for 100 hours before Australian federal agents formally interviewed him in Pakistan and was denied access to a lawyer.
Prosecutor Richard Maidment told the court Mr Thomas went to Afghanistan to train for holy war at the Al Farooq camp in March 2001.
After his training he stayed in al-Qaida safe houses in Pakistan and in September 2002 met Abu Osama, who discussed a plan to break a man out of Guantanamo Bay.
In November 2002 Mr Thomas allegedly met senior al-Qaida member Khaled Bin Attash, who told him bin Laden wanted an Australian to do work for him in Australia.
The court was told Mr Thomas was told to act as a "sleeper" in Melbourne.
Mr Maidment said there were allegedly other sleepers in Australia and there was a risk those people would try to help Mr Thomas flee if he were f
reed on bail.
Convicted Australian al-Qaida plotter Jack Roche allegedly told police he and Mr Thomas met Abu Bakar Bashir in 2000.
M
r Stary argued his client should get bail, saying the case against him relied on an interview that may never be admissible in court.
But Chief Magistrate Ian Gray said Mr Thomas had not shown his case was exceptional and remanded him in custody to return to court in February.
Skara Brae,
madkins
