|
Canberra: An Australian taxi driver convicted of terrorism charges in 2006 but later set free after an appeal was ordered yesterday to face a fresh terrorism trial.
A Court of Appeal in Victoria state ruled that Jack Thomas (35) could be tried for the same offences and that prosecutors could use comments Thomas made in a television interview as evidence in the case.
Thomas, a Muslim convert, was convicted under Australia's terrorism laws in 2006 after he was found to have a false passport, and to have received money and a plane ticket from Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaida network in Afghanistan in 2001.
But he was set free later that year after winning an appeal against his conviction, with the courts ruling evidence related to a police interview in Pakistan was inadmissible.
But the Victorian Court of Appeal ruled on Monday that prosecutors could use an interview Thomas gave to Australian television to support its case.
Since his release from jail, Thomas has been subjected to strict government control orders, which restrict his movements, impose a midnight-to-5am curfew, and ban him from making contact with specified people.
Appeal rejected
Meanwhile, the High Court has upheld the terrorism conviction of Faheem Khalid Lodhi, jailed for 20 years in 2006 for plotting an attack against the nation's electricity grid.
The court rejected Lodhi's application for an appeal, his last legal avenue to have the conviction overturned.
Australia has gradually strengthened its anti-terrorism laws since the September 11, 2001 airliner attacks on the United States.
|
