Terrorist Abdul Benbrika was given permanent Australian residency in 1995 when then immigration minister Nick Bolkus overruled a deportation order issued by the Immigration Review Tribunal.
Benbrika was in Melbourne recruiting for his terror cell when either Bolkus or the acting minister stepped in and gave him permanent residency. Prior to this, Benbrika – as an illegal immigrant from Algeria – was ordered out of Australia three times between 1990 and 1995.
Bolkus told the Herald Sun that, “it was a different world in 1995” and although he can’t remember if it was him or someone acting in the position, he is certain that it had, “been brought to (his) attention about this guy being a risk to security then there is no way (he) would have signed him in.”
Abdul Benbrika was one of the 17 men arrested in Melbourne and Sydney in 2005, charged with being members of a terrorist organisation planning attacks on bombing targets within Australia. Some of the targets included the 2005 AFL grand final between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles, Melbourne’s Crown casino during Grand Prix weekend in 2006 and Sydney’s Lucas Heights nuclear reactor.
Although Benbrika, the spiritual leader of the group, and all those charged pleaded not guilty, he was found guilty on the charge of intentionally being the leader and member of a terrorist organisation in 2008. He was sentenced to 15 years jail but could walk free in six years.
