Khaled
Sharrouf is one of the Pendennis Nine, who managed to leave Australia on his
brother's passport. sharrouf3.jpg
Almost a decade after their arrest, much of the
most comprehensive terrorism cell in Australian history continues to menace the
country with the same messages of violence and anti-Western hate, which are
being spread either by cell members or some of their close relatives.
Nine Sydney men were arrested in 2005 under
Operation Pendennis, the largest counter-terrorism investigation
undertaken in Australia, which uncovered jihadist cells in Melbourne and
Sydney amassing guns, ammunition and bomb-making equipment to use in terrorist
attacks on home soil.
Ongoing acts of extremism by some relatives of more
than half the Sydney cell members raise questions about what influence family
can have on the radicalisation of young Australians.
Mohamed Elomar, nephew of Mohamed Ali Elomar (inset), suspected to be fighting with the Islamic State in either Syria or Iraq.
The cell has re-entered the spotlight with the gruesome actions of one member, Khaled Sharrouf, who slipped out of the country allegedly using his brother's passport last year to join the terrorist group Islamic State, formerly known as ISIL.
A psychiatrist and
judge cautiously believed Sharrouf would abandon his radical beliefs upon his
release from prison in 2009 but he is now one of Australia's most wanted
terrorists, along with Mohamed Elomar, whose jailed uncle Mohamed Ali Elomar
was Sharrouf's Pendennis co-accused.
Elomar senior was
close with his nephews, brothers Ahmed and Mohamed, who protested their uncle's
innocence during the landmark Pendennis trials.
Khaled Cheikho, top,
and his nephew Moustafa Cheikho, are both being held in a high-security unit in
Prison. Their close family is believed to pose a security threat to Australia.
The nephews' father
Mamdouh and uncles Ibrahim and John became highly successful businessmen. Ahmed
and Mohamed travelled a different path. Ahmed bashed a police officer during
the 2012 Hyde Park riot and Mohamed recently posed with severed heads on the
Syrian battlefield, saying "love it keep them heads rolling".
Family lawyer Adam
Houda denied the influence came from their uncle, saying the brothers would
have visited Elomar once in the nine years he has been incarcerated.
"[Mohamed junior] has gone about things, we say, the wrong way but the
person I know ... he's very sincere and always very motivated and very touched
and distressed by what's happening abroad," Mr Houda said.
Close relatives of
the Sydney cell's ringleader Khaled Cheikho and his nephew Moustafa Cheikho,
who are both in a high-risk prison unit, continue to pose a security threat to
Australia, authorities believe.
Khaled Cheikho's
wife, Rahmah Wisudo, lives in Jordan with their son and was named in a 2010 US
embassy cable as one of 11 Australians to be placed on a no-fly list due to
"demonstrated links" with al-Qaeda.
Rahmah's mother
Rabiah Hutchinson, often referred to as the "matriarch of radical Islam in
Australia", and half-brothers Illias and Abdullah Ayub, who were detained
in Yemen in 2006 on terrorism charges, were also named in the cable due to
their demonstrated links to al-Qaeda. Ayub was released without charge.
Illias has since
emerged on the Syrian battlefield and has been hailed a hero by his
family.
"May Allah
always protect or reward him with martyrdom if killed," said his father,
Abdul Rahman Ayub, a former Jemaah Islamiah leader who fled Australia after the
Bali bombings.
In recent months,
Rahmah has posted support for al-Qaeda leader Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri
and "mujahideen in the battle fields".
In one Facebook post
she said: "'suicidal bombing' is what the kuffar [non-believers] call it
we muslims call it 'martyrdom operations' and it is allowed in Islam."
Her bank
accounts were recently frozen and her 15-year-old son has posted a picture of a
machine gun and his name Zubair spelt out with bullets.
Khaled Cheikho's
brother Adnan maintains his brother's and nephew's innocence and was allowed to
visit Khaled for the first time in February after a five-year security
lock-out. On Facebook he described him as underweight but smiley. "What a
soldier," he said
Former
counter-terrorism officer Peter Moroney, who monitored Pendennis members for 18
months, said the indoctrination was so deep in some families that combating it
went far beyond law enforcement. He believed extremist Facebook posts were the
start of the indoctrination process.
"It's not
just dad, at some point other family members are brought into it so it doesn't
surprise me if some of the relatives are involved [today] in that
capacity," he said..
"When that's
what you're taught from a young age, what do you expect them to grow
into?"
Some relatives of
cell members Mohammed Omar Jamal, Mazen Touma and Omar Baladjam also remain
under the gaze of authorities.
A judge found that
Jamal was largely influenced by his older brother Saleh, described by the government
as critical to the evolution of jihadism in Australia. Saleh fled Sydney on a
false passport in 2004, was convicted of terrorism offences in Lebanon and,
while in prison, threatened to fly a plane into the Harbour Bridge and said he
would "chop up" John Howard.
Saleh kneeled on the
ground as he was released from Nowra prison last year after being acquitted
over the Lakemba police station shooting.
Saleh has since
started a property investment business and police sources believe the family is
trying to make an honest living and hope to help Mohammed turn his life around
after prison.
Members of the Jamal,
Cheikho and Sharrouf families remain close. Khaled Sharrouf's sister Miriam
remains friends with Omar Baladjam's wife, posting a message on her behalf in
June to protest the "oppressive and inhumane treatment" of their
"brothers" in Goulburn's Supermax and despairing at the lonely wives
and orphan children "missing their fathers' daily company, guidance and
care".
In his sentencing
remarks in 2009, Judge Anthony Whealy said the cell members showed little
remorse and few signs of deradicalisation. Many "wear their imprisonment
like some kind of badge of honour", he said.
A court found all
nine cell members had vast quantities of extremist material, including
thousands of images and videos of executions, and they shared the same violent
hatred of non-believers and intolerance of Australia.
A study by Australian
Institute of Criminology researcher Shandon Harris-Hogan has found the
influence of family is the "key driver" of radicalisation among
Australia's "small but persistent" jihadist network. "In order
to prevent further radicalisation and potentially a catastrophic act of
mass-casualty terrorism, focus needs to be directed towards addressing the close
family and friendship influences which draw people into the network," he
concludes in the study, published in Security Challenges this year.
ASIO would not
comment on specific operations.
A spokesman for the
NSW Police said they "continue to monitor and engage with communities at
risk of either being victims of, or engaging in acts of extremism".
"In recent years
the NSW Police Force has investigated and disrupted a number of planned
activities," the spokesman said.
The Pendennis Nine
1.Khaled Sharrouf
Convicted of
conspiracy to do acts in preparation for a terrorist act. Obtained six clocks
and 140 batteries to be used in bombs.
The 33 year-old
father-of-five from Punchbowl is married to convert Tara Nettleton.
Sentenced to 4 years,
released in 2009.
2. Khaled Cheikho
Khaled was described
as the ringleader of the Sydney cell.
Born in Lebanon as
one of 11, he is a 42 year-old father-of-one.
Sentenced to 20
years.
3.Moustafa Cheikho
Khaled’s nephew
Moustafa was found with explosives and bomb-making tools.
The 38-year-old
father and mechanic was described by a judge as having low self-esteem.
Sentenced to 19½
years.
4. Mohamed Ali
Elomar
Described in court as
the “puppet master” of the Sydney cell and given the longest prison term due to
his leadership role.
The married father of
six, who operated his own drafting business, would be 50 years old.
Sentenced to 21
years.
5.Mohammed Omar Jamal
A judge found he was
largely influenced by his older brother Saleh’s radical beliefs. He was found
guilty of obtaining bomb-making materials.
An Australian-born
31-year-old computer repairman with eight brothers and four sisters.
Sentenced to 17
years.
6. Mazen Touma
Convicted for
obtaining firearms, ammunition and explosives.
Now 33, raised in a
moderate Islamic family, divorced by his Greek Orthodox-born wife after his
arrest but informally married the sister of a prisoner while awaiting trial.
Sentenced to 20
years.
7. Abdul Rakib Hasan
Collected equipment
and chemicals for a terrorist act. Grew up in a large poverty-stricken
Bangladeshi family and moved to Australia to study but worked as a butcher in
Lakemba. Would now be 49.
Divorced by convert
wife, Shahida Steele, with whom he had four children. Largely abandoned by his
family.
Sentenced to 19½
years.
8.Omar Baladjam
Acquired ammunition,
chemicals and firearms.
A 38 year-old father
of four, born in Manly. Had a troubled upbringing, ran a painting company. Wife
and mother most likely relocated to Malaysia after his arrest.
There was a message
posted online recently by Sharrouf's sister Miriam from Baladjam's wife
demanding his release.
Sentenced to 20
years.
9. Mirsad
Mulahalilovic
Possessed firearms
and ammunition and released in 2010.
Bosnian-born Muslim
convert, 38, who ran a painting business in Sydney.
Since his release, he
has established another painting business and is living in Belmore.
Named in a 2010 US
embassy cable as one of 23 Australians under ASIO surveillance due to links
with al-Qaeda.
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