Freed Australia terror suspect appeals control order News
Freed Australia terror suspect appeals control order

[JURIST] An Australian man who was convicted [JURIST report] in February of receiving money from an al-Qaeda associate but then successfully appealed has appealed the Australian government's issuance of a control order [JURIST report] limiting his freedom of movement. Joseph Terrence "Jihad Jack" Thomas [advocacy website] won his appeal [Australian report; judgment] in August, but the federal government immediately sought and obtained a control order against Thomas, the first such order administered under a controversial new anti-terror law [ANS backgrounder]. The High Court in Canberra will hear arguments on the control order in December. Thomas' lawyers will argue that the order should be quashed and the Commonwealth should be enjoined from enforcing it because Thomas was absolved of criminal guilt by the appeals court and should not be subject to a curfew and other restrictions.

Thomas was the first Australian incarcerated under the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Act 2002 [text] after having been found guilty in February of receiving $3,500 from a senior Al Qaeda member and of carrying a fake passport. His conviction was overturned as to all counts because authorities were found to have interviewed Thomas against his will and without access to a lawyer when he was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. The control order against Thomas, which in part bans him from contacting a list of people including Osama Bin Laden, was deemed 'farcical' by an Australian judge [JURIST report] last month. ABC News has more. News Limited has local coverage.

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