Philippine Immigration officers escort Robert Edward Cerantonio (C), an Australian convert to Islam who used the internet to urge people to join “jihad” in Iraq and Syria (AFP FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Robert Cerantonio, 34, originally from Melbourne, was tagged as the extremist “ringleader” and “spiritual adviser” who planned a “foreign incursion” together with five other men between October 2015 and May 2016.
Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steve Robinson said the sentencing of Cerantonio was a result of the cooperation between Manila and Melbourne.
“A would-be terrorist fighter has been jailed after trying to sail from Australia to the Philippines. This shows the importance of close Australia-Philippines cooperation,” Robinson said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Reports showed that Cerantonio and his cohorts planned to sail a tiny boat from the coast of Queensland to Indonesia where they would be joined by Filipino jihadists en route to the southern Philippines.
Initially, the men bought a boat and a four-wheel drive vehicle to tow it to Cape York, about 4,000 kilometers from the capital Melbourne.
It was added that the group also purchased survival gear as well as navigational equipment, and had drawn maps of the seas near their targeted destination.
However, Australian authorities were able to intercept the men even before they could sail to the Philippines.
During the court hearing in March, Victorian Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said Cerantonio, along with Paul Dacre, Antonino Granata, Shayden Thorne, Kadir Kaya and Murat Kaya “agreed to encourage acts … directed [to] … overthrow by force or violence the government of the southern Philippines” between 2015 to 2015.
In February, Cerantonio’s group members Dacre, Granata and Kadir Kaya were each sentenced to four years in prison, with a non-parole period of three years.
On the other hand, Murat Kaya was handed down with a jail sentence of three years and eight months while Thorne was meted with three years and 10 months, both with a non-parole period.
Reports showed that Cerantonio and his cohorts planned to sail a tiny boat from the coast of Queensland to Indonesia where they would be joined by Filipino jihadists en route to the southern Philippines.
Initially, the men bought a boat and a four-wheel drive vehicle to tow it to Cape York, about 4,000 kilometers from the capital Melbourne.
It was added that the group also purchased survival gear as well as navigational equipment, and had drawn maps of the seas near their targeted destination.
However, Australian authorities were able to intercept the men even before they could sail to the Philippines.
During the court hearing in March, Victorian Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said Cerantonio, along with Paul Dacre, Antonino Granata, Shayden Thorne, Kadir Kaya and Murat Kaya “agreed to encourage acts … directed [to] … overthrow by force or violence the government of the southern Philippines” between 2015 to 2015.
In February, Cerantonio’s group members Dacre, Granata and Kadir Kaya were each sentenced to four years in prison, with a non-parole period of three years.
On the other hand, Murat Kaya was handed down with a jail sentence of three years and eight months while Thorne was meted with three years and 10 months, both with a non-parole period.
Cerantonio, who was brought up as a Christian, had converted to Islam when he was 17.
Reports from the Australian media said Cerantonio had spent a year in the Philippines before he was sent back to Australia in 2014. Since then, he had publicly preached support for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and advocated for sharia law.
Reports from the Australian media said Cerantonio had spent a year in the Philippines before he was sent back to Australia in 2014. Since then, he had publicly preached support for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and advocated for sharia law.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.