SYDNEY: Police said on Tuesday they arrested three men who were allegedly preparing to attack the public in Melbourne, less than two weeks after a man killed one person in Australia’s second-largest city in what police said was an act of terrorism.
Australian federal and state police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and other agencies that form part of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team carried out the arrests on Tuesday morning.
Police said three men, aged 30, 26 and 21, were taken into custody after they allegedly sought to acquire a semi-automatic gun to carry out an attack.
The 21-year-old man was charged with planning a terrorist act, police said.
All were Australian citizens and their passports had been canceled earlier this year.
“We now have sufficient evidence to act in relation to preventing a terrorist attack,” Graham Ashton, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, told reporters.
Police said the suspects had yet to decide on the site of their planned attack but they believed the act was imminent.
“They were certainly looking at a place of mass gathering, where there would be crowds,” Ashton said. “They were trying to focus on trying to have a place where they could kill as many people as possible.”
Police said they believed the arrests had nullified any threat from the group.
Australia, a staunch US ally that sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, has been on heightened alert since 2014 for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East or their supporters.
Australia currently sees the likelihood of a militant attack as “probable,” the midpoint on a five-level threat ranking system. It has been set at that level since the system was introduced in 2015.
Police said the three men were known to authorities and their passports were canceled because of concerns they would travel to a conflict zone overseas.
The arrests came less than two weeks after a man set fire to a pickup truck laden with gas cylinders in the center of Melbourne and stabbed three people, killing one, before he was shot by police.
As was the case in that attack, police said on Tuesday the three men had been inspired by Islamic State rather than being directed by the militant group.
Police said the three suspects did not have any links to the man responsible for the Nov. 9 attack, although they had escalated their planning in the aftermath of that assault.
“Certainly, over the last week they’ve become energized about doing something more quickly,” Ashton said.
Australian police arrest three over plan to stage ‘mass’ attack
Australian police arrest three over plan to stage ‘mass’ attack
- The three men were taken into custody after they allegedly sought to acquire a semi-automatic gun to carry out an attack
- The arrests came less than two weeks after a man set fire to a pickup truck and stabbed three people, killing one
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
- They accuse authorities of abandoning prison safety policies
- Several of the imprisoned activists have been hospitalized
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework for prison safety, The Independent reported.
A pre-action letter was sent to Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists.
It came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating health while on hunger strike.
They say they have sent several letters to Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a “matter of urgency.”
The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
An “urgent meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran Ahmed, 28.
They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair due to health concerns.
Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and need specialized medical care.
In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors, Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications, including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.”
The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed.
They are also urging the government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other demands.
In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
