Media Release
Anti-Terror Laws deliver another Travesty of Justice

    Sydney, Australia, 17^th February 2010 - Five Sydney Muslim men were sentenced to harsh sentences of up to 28 years jail on Monday 15 February 2010 by the Supreme Court, after being earlier convicted on terrorism-related offences. The presiding judge, Justice Whealy, admitted that an intent to kill could not be established. However he found the mere possibility of life being taken sufficient to pronounce them guilty, particularly given the ‘extreme' views they held.

Uthman Badar, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia, says in this regard,

"This is yet another example of the travesty of justice delivered courtesy of the anti-terror laws. Here we have a case where there is no direct evidence, no established intent to kill, and no specific target. All we have is circumstantial evidence pieced together in a particular way, where various other conclusions could be reached."

"What we have here in essence is individuals being found guilty under the anti-terror laws, no more, no less. Yet these laws are themselves the problem. They are drafted too widely, too broadly, and bring down the burden of proof and standard of evidence required too low. Anyone can be convicted of almost anything. What does it take to establish the mere possibility of something being intended? Evidently not much."

"It is deplorable that ideas are being criminalised and used as a substitute for solid and direct evidence. A word as imprecise and subjective as ‘extreme' is being used in a court of law to effectively sentence people for life. ‘Extreme' according to whom or what? ‘Extreme' as judged by what criteria?"

"We find that many of the ‘extreme' views, as mentioned in the sentencing remarks, are basic Islamic views which Muslims generally hold. Views like Muslims being obliged to defend themselves and Jihad being the way to do this. Criminalising these views is to criminalise criticism of Western foreign policy in Muslim lands, and this is the crux of the matter. The anti-terror laws were designed to silence Muslims through fear and intimidation, and are now being used for that purpose."

"There is a deeper irony here. Just as the jury found that the intent of these men was to coerce the Australian government to change it polices regarding the invasion of Muslim countries, the Western invasion of Afghanistan, to which Australia is a party, not only continues but has been intensified. Yet all we get from the media and the politicians is a shameful sweeping under the carpet of this original injustice."

"We advise the Muslims not to be caught up in this hysteria and these witchhunts. The Western standard of proof and justice may have fallen, but the Islamic standard remains firmly in place. No one is to be judged by anything less. More importantly, we advise the Muslims to continue in their brave accounting of Western governments and Western foreign policy, and to call a spade a spade, without being silenced by the cheap tactics of the Government."