For producing a book whilst knowing it was connected with assisting a terrorist attack
Penalty
14 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 9 years
Bilal Saadallah Khazal (also Belal Khazal) is a convicted Lebanese Australian criminal who served a custodial sentence of fourteen years, with a non-parole period of nine years, for producing a book whilst knowing it was connected with assisting a terrorist attack. Khazal who was a former baggage handler for Qantas Airways at Sydney Airport, and a prominent figure in the Islamic Youth Movement.
On 25 September 2009 the Supreme Court of New South Wales sentenced Bilal Khazal to 14 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 9 years, for producing a book, titled 'Provisions on the Rules of Jihad', whilst knowing it was connected with assisting a terrorist attack that would happen in Australia.[3][4] In 2011 the conviction was overturned[5] and Khazal was granted bail by the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney on 7 June 2011, after spending nearly three years in jail. Khazal's barrister, Charles Waterstreet, said that his jail conditions had been "just one step down from Guantánamo Bay".[citation needed]
The Australian Government appealed to the High Court of Australia which, in August 2012, unanimously overturned the earlier dismissal and Khazal's bail was revoked by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. While Waterstreet expressed disappointment at the ruling, Nicola McGarrity, a lecturer in terrorism law at the University of NSW, called the High Court ruling unsurprising as it was the only reasonable conclusion based on the evidence.[6] In June 2013 the High Court dismissed an appeal against the severity of Khazal's sentence.[7]
In September 2017, Khazal, having served his nine-year non-parole period, was refused parole after a secret hearing heard that the Australian Government received high-level advice that Khazal's release would put at risk public safety and national security.[8] Khazal is serving his sentence in the Goulburn Correctional Centre's SuperMax.[9]
Khazal was released on 30 August 2020 under a strict control order that includes wearing a tracking device and a curfew.[4]
