[JURIST] The New South Wales Supreme Court [official website] on Friday convicted five men were of conspiracy to do acts in preparation of terrorist attacks. The men, who cannot be named publicly [ABC report] due to other ongoing trials, were found guilty of having stockpiled ammunition and bomb-making materials in order to conduct a terrorist attack on an unspecified location [Australian report] to protest Australia's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Four co-conspirators had previously pleaded guilty [ABC report] to related charges, although this information was kept from the jury [Australian report] during the trial. The five face a maximum of life in prison [Reuters report] when they are sentenced on December 14.

The jury returned the convictions after deliberating for 23 days [UPI report], hearing from 300 witnesses and examining 3,000 exhibits which included 30 days of video surveillance [ABC report] and 18 hours of taped phone calls. The men were arrested [ABC report] in a series of raids in 2005. In August, another group of men was arrested [UPI report] in Sydney, accused of plotting to attack an Australian army base. The raids were made public by the Australian prior to being carried out, which has led to a corruption investigation, and possible charges [The Age report] against a Victoria detective.