Charges against Nizamdeen dropped, threatens to sue Police | Daily News

Charges against Nizamdeen dropped, threatens to sue Police

Australian Police have decided to drop terrorism charges against Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen, (25), a Sri Lankan studying at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, after having accused him of plotting to assassinate Australian politicians, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Nizamdeen’s lawyer has threatened to take legal action against the police.

He was arrested in August and accused of writing in a notebook about plans to kill former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his former deputy Julie Bishop.

Thereafter, prosecutors conceded a handwriting expert could not prove he had written the notes in the notebook.

Australian Police yesterday dropped the charge of collecting or making documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts after “definitive advice” on the handwriting in the notebook was received on Thursday.

ABC further reports: Speaking outside court on Friday,Nizamdeen’s lawyer Moustafa Kheir said the process had taken a toll on the student, who spent a month in a maximum-security prison after being charged.

“He’s gone through super max jail — unforgivable circumstances.”

Police had alleged Nizamdeen possessed a blueprint to target several “symbolic” Sydney locations, after officers from NSW’s Joint Counter-Terrorism Team (JCTT) arrested him at Kensington in Sydney’s south-east in August.

Police had alleged the blueprints were found in a notebook in a desk that Nizamdeen used at the University of New South Wales.

His arrest and time in jail sparked protests in his Sri Lankan hometown as well as concerns from classmates at The University of New South Wales. Kheir said Nizamdeen would be suing the police for compensation.

“We are seeking justice through every avenue we can,” he said.

Speaking on Friday, NSW Police Counter-Terrorism Assistant Commissioner Michael Willing declined to comment on the legal threat, calling it a matter for Nizamdeen’s lawyers and family.

He also declined to apologise to the family.

“The investigation is ongoing,” he said.

“We’re relying on forensic analysis of material.

We are looking at of whole raft of lines of inquiry at the moment, and these things take time.

Speaking after questions on Nizamdeen’s month-long stint in jail,the Assistant Commissioner Willing said the “very nature” of terrorism threats meant his department often had to “act first”.

“There were serious threats,” he said.

“[And] we can never be complacent because the terrorist threat in Australia and New South Wales is very, very real.”

In a statement, police said the investigation had shifted to focus “on the possibility that the content of the notebook has been created by other people”.

“The JCTT acted in good faith on the evidence available at all stages of the investigation,” the statement said.

“The investigation into the circumstances of this matter remains ongoing, but there is no information to indicate that there is a current threat to community safety.”

 

 


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