SYDNEY: Australia has canceled the citizenship of an Algerian-born Muslim cleric who was convicted of leading a terrorist cell that planned to bomb a football match in Melbourne in 2005, Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said on Wednesday.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika is now the first person to be stripped of his citizenship while still in Australia.
“If it’s a person who’s posing a significant terrorist threat to our country, then we’ll do whatever is possible within Australian law to protect Australians,” Dutton told reporters in Brisbane.
Benbrika was convicted on three terrorism charges. He was jailed for 15 years for directing a terrorist group, being a member of a terrorist group and possessing material associated with planning of a terrorist act.
Benbrika remains in an Australian prison despite finishing his sentence. Under Australian law Canberra is permitted to detain anyone convicted of terror offenses for up to three years after their sentence finishes.
Lawyers for Benbrika have appealed against his ongoing detention. He has 90 days to appeal the cancelation of his visa and return to Algeria.
Under Australian law, a person can only be stripped of their citizenship if they are dual citizens, thereby preventing people from being made stateless.
Australia used the powers in 2019 to strip the citizenship of Neil Prakash, an alleged Daesh recruiter who is imprisoned in Turkey. Australia argued he was a dual citizen as he also has Fijian citizenship, though Fiji denied the claim — souring the bilateral relationship.
Australia cancels citizenship of Muslim cleric in local first
https://arab.news/4792n
Australia cancels citizenship of Muslim cleric in local first
- Abdul Nacer Benbrika the first person to be stripped of his citizenship while still in Australia
Man charged after defacing Churchill statue in central London
- Metropolitan Police said Caspar San Giorgio was charged early Saturday, some 24 hours after his arrest
- He had been detained within minutes of officers being alerted to the incident
LONDON: London police said Saturday a man had been charged with criminal damage for defacing a statue of Britain’s World War II prime minister Winston Churchill with pro-Palestinian slogans.
The monument in the central Parliament Square was smeared with red paint early on Friday and “Zionist war criminal” among the slogans written on it.
The Metropolitan Police said Caspar San Giorgio, 38, of no fixed address, was charged early Saturday, some 24 hours after his arrest.
He had been detained within minutes of officers being alerted to the incident, according to the force.
He was due to appear at a London magistrates’ court later Saturday.
The words “free Palestine” and “stop the genocide” were also sprayed on the statue, which workers cleaned off Friday.
The incident prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to call the damage “completely abhorrent” and commend police for the swift arrest.
“Churchill was a great Briton,” a spokesman said.
The 3.6 meter (12-foot) Churchill statue has been vandalized a number of times in recent years, including during Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion climate demonstrations in 2020.
