SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 8 February 2025, Saturday |

Australian Police Arrest Man Over Alleged ISIS Membership

A Sydney man who posted extremist rhetoric and possessed recipes for explosives has been arrested for allegedly being a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, the Australian police said on Saturday (June 19).

“The man has been charged with membership of a terrorist organization, namely ISIS,” after a seven-month investigation, the Australian Federal Police and the New South Wales police said in a joint statement.

They did not name the 24-year-old, who was arrested on Friday, a typical practice in Australia unless the police deem the identification of the suspect in the interest of the victim’s family or the public.

“There is no ongoing threat to the community relating to this investigation,” Reuters quoted the police as saying.

The man faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

“The man’s rhetoric online was escalating … he had collected a large amount of extremist material and he was in possession of several improvised explosive recipes,” the police said.

“The actions of this man do not represent the Islamic faith,” Federal Police Commander Counter Terrorism Investigations Stephen Dametto was quoted in the press release as saying. “His actions are criminal and they represent hatred and terror.”