Terrorist who plotted to blow up MCG on AFL grand final day sends message to Australians after being released from prison
A notorious terrorist leader who plotted to blow up the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the AFL grand final has admitted he needs time to adjust to life as a free man and the public has nothing to worry about following his recent release from prison.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, 63, spent 18 years behind bars for conspiring to attack the MCG while it was packed with 100,000 fans, along with Melbourne’s rail network and the Crown Casino in 2005.
The convicted terrorist has broken his silence since his release from the high-risk and maximum security center Barwon Prison two weeks ago, in the wake of the recent controversial Supreme Court ruling that indefinite detention was unlawful.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika (pictured leaving Barwon Prison) is still adjusting to life as a free man
Benbrika wanted to let Australians know he has learned a big lesson and assured the crowd he would not offend again.
“I’ve thought about it and I’ve learned a huge lesson.”
Benbrika also delivered a message to those concerned about his release from prison.
“Listen, just sleep. Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to worry about him (Benbrika) now.”
Debate rages over whether he should have been released, including claims from a leading national security think tank that it was “highly unlikely” he did not pose a public threat.
Two of his sons are also said to have links to convicted terrorists and underworld figures, including gangster Ahmed Elomar.
“People need to know that Nacer (himself) is not who he was,” Benbrika told the publication.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to worry about him (Benbrika) anymore.”
Abdul Nacer Benbrika (pictured) conspired to attack the MCG while it was packed with 100,000 fans
Thirty strict conditions have been imposed on Benbrika, despite Victorian Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth saying he had made substantial progress towards deradicalisation
He must wear a tracking device, is not allowed to send mail and must live with his wife and four children at their home in Melbourne’s north.
There are also restrictions on who can contact Benbrika, where he can go and who can visit the family home.
Before his sentence expired in 2020, former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton successfully applied for the order, which allows courts to keep convicted terrorists behind bars if they pose an ongoing danger to the community.
Algerian-born Benbrika has won a landmark court ruling to overturn a government attempt to strip him of his Australian citizenship and deport him.
Benbrika, 63, migrated to Australia in 1989 and got his citizenship in 1998, but that was torn up in 2020 after he served 15 years in prison for running a terrorist organization.
The convicted terrorist leader must wear a tracking device as part of 30 strict conditions imposed on him