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Muslims suspected of terrorism plead not guilty in Sydney

Nine Muslim men detained in a series of police raids in 2005 pleaded not guilty yesterday to conspiring to commit a terrorist attack in Australia, at a hearing held under tight security.

Some of the nine defendants, among a total of 18 men detained in Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005, smiled and waved to supporters at the New South Wales Supreme Court.

All of them refused to stand to enter their pleas of not guilty on religious grounds. The trial has been set for February next year.

nuclear target

The men were charged with planning attacks between July 2004 and November 2005, with Australia's only nuclear reactor, at Lucas Heights in Sydney, reportedly one of their targets.

At a committal hearing earlier this year, it was alleged they had recipes to make explosives and used false names to buy chemicals and other ingredients.

Prosecutor Wendy Abraham said the men believed that Islam was under attack and wanted to respond.

"Violence was the primary tool of their jihad," she said.

Lawyers for the men indicated they would challenge the legality of the indictments.

At a separate committal hearing in Melbourne last September, a court found that there was enough evidence for 11 other men arrested in the November raids and in subsequent sweeps to stand trial on terrorism charges.

inspiration

The prosecutor in that case said the men were inspired by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and that one of the accused, cleric Abdul Nacer Benbrika, had urged them to inflict "maximum damage" in Australia in the name of jihad.

The men were arrested days after the government passed tough new anti-terrorism legislation making it easier for police to prosecute suspects involved in the early stages of planning attacks.

Prime Minister John Howard pushed the legislation through parliament after expressing concern that Australia could face attacks similar to the deadly London transport bombings in July 2005.
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