Aussie terror sentence appeals upheld

Six men convicted in Australia's first major terrorism case have had their jail
terms reduced on appeal.
But the men, and their leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika, all failed in appeals against
their conviction for being members of a terrorist group.
Benbrika and his followers were jailed on terrorism charges last year after a jury
heard they discussed terrorist acts on city landmarks in Melbourne, and attacks on
women and children.
On Monday, the Victorian Court of Appeal partly upheld appeals against convictions
by two of the men, Benbrika and Aimen Joud, for possessing an item in preparation of
a terrorism act.
The court found the trial judge misdirected the jury on the requirements needed to
establish that crime.
As a result, Benbrika, of Melbourne suburban Dallas, will be retried on the
possession count.
But his appeal against his conviction for directing the terrorist organisation was
rejected.
His sentence of 15 years' jail with a minimum of 12 years remains unchanged.
He is the only accused who did not win a reduced sentence.
Joud, of Hoppers Crossing, was acquitted on two counts of possession.
He was resentenced on other matters to eight years' jail, a two-year cut in his
sentence.
The other five men, Fadl Sayadi, of Coburg, Ezzit Raad, of Preston, Ahmed Raad, of
Fawkner, Abdullah Merhi, of Fawkner, and Amer Haddara, of Yarraville, got their jail
terms reduced by one to two years.
Appeal court president Chris Maxwell and justices Geoffrey Nettle and Mark Weinberg,
found the evidence clearly showed the men were "knowing and intentional" members of
a terrorist organisation.
"That organisation existed for the purpose of readying its members to carry out
violent jihad when, and if, directed to do so by Benbrika," they said.
But the judges found the sentences the men received on the charge of being a
terrorist group member were too long.
They also said the terrorist organisation's history was relevant when considering
the seriousness of the crime, and the maximum 10-year jail term set by parliament.
"On the one hand, a terrorist organisation may include anything from a rag-tag
collection of malcontents whose commitment to terror never advances further than a
conception that one day, some time, they will undertake a terrorist act," they said.
"On the other hand, it may include a terrorist organisation like al-Qaeda or Jema'ah
Islamiah, with a proven record of committing the worst terrorist acts imaginable."
But the judges said the culpability involved in being a terror cell member should
never be seen as less than very serious, even when the group goes no further than
preparing to commit an act.
Only one accused, Merhi, who has completed his jail time, appeared in court.
He ran from reporters after exiting the court.
Sayadi's maximum jail sentence was reduced from eight years to seven years.
Merhi's jail term was cut from six years to four years.
Ahmed Raad had his term reduced from 10 to eight years' jail, while Ezzit Raad had
his sentence cut from seven-and-a-half years to six years.
Haddara's jail term was reduced from six years to four years.
The men were arrested in raids in 2005 in Melbourne's northern and western suburbs.
Their convictions followed a trial that heard from more than 50 witnesses and
thousands of hours of listening device material and telephone intercepts.