On April 21,the prosecutor said the boy wrote,“I really want to do an attack now too because I have so much hatred for these kuffar,it’s not funny,I want to do Jihad now”. Rodger said kuffar related to non-believers,and a reference was made in the conversation to “doing it in front of cameras”.
“The young person … says he wants to stab a person because he’s a f---ing kuffar dog,” she said.
The court heard the boy had been arrested after an alleged crime at a liquor store in Lurnea on April 22,involving a wooden plank being thrown at a person,and he had been in possession of a knife.
Rodger said two hand-drawn IS flags were found in the boy’s bedroom during a police raid on April 24,while a tomahawk and hunting knife were found in the garage. In opposing bail,she said the paramount consideration was community safety.
More than 400 officers from the Joint Counter-terrorism Teamraided 13 locations across Sydney’s south-west that day,including addresses in Greenacre,Strathfield,Bankstown,Prestons,Casula,Lurnea,Rydalmere,Chester Hill and Punchbowl. A location in Goulburn was also searched.
Defence lawyer Ahmed Dib on Wednesday said the teenager was “very quiet growing up”,and lacked confidence and self-esteem. He noted a large portion of the police facts did not relate to the boy,and argued it would be a significant amount of time until a trial could be held.
He said his client,in some of the alleged comments,was “venting” and expressing “very deranged thoughts” but was “not saying ‘I am planning an attack’,nor saying ‘I have organised[one]’”.
In one conversation,the boy had been told “hang on a second,we’ve now made peace between the different communities” and replied that he agreed,Dib said.
Regarding the reference to the alleged stabber being a “mate”,Dib said:“If there is nothing demonstrating on either phone[a] connection between the two persons,how could the court be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt this is not a 15-year-old … engaging in bravado-type communication?”
Dib said the discussions were “macho-type” and “it would not be outside of the realm of possibility” that it was a 15-year-old “trying to brag … about something that he has no connection to”.
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“This is not,in my respectful submission,an extremely strong prosecution case,” Dib said. “There are significant inferences that need to be drawn.”
The boy’s family offered a $1.5 million surety,which Dib said was the “entirety” of their wealth,being their house. The defence also proposed conditions including full-time home detention and an ankle bracelet.
Magistrate James Viney said the police allegations “when reflected upon,are gravely concerning,deeply disturbing and very serious”.
However,no bail decision was made on Wednesday,due to late evidence from the defence regarding electronic monitoring,and an adjournment then sought by the prosecutor to respond and to provide information about the whereabouts of the boy’s passport. The case will return to court on Thursday.