A suspected teenage terrorist plotter who made “explicit threats” to stab Jews or Assyrians has been refused bail and deemed an “unacceptable risk” to the community.
The 15-year-old, who cannot be named, was charged Friday with conspiring to engage in an act of preparation or planning for a terrorist act.
A court previously heard the boy claimed to be friends with the 16-year-old accused of stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live-streamed sermon in April.
Magistrate James Viney denied the teenager bail on the grounds that there were no exceptional circumstances to secure his release.
“There is an unacceptable risk to the protection of the community,” he told Parramatta Youth Court on Thursday.
Family of alleged teenage terrorist plotter leaves Parramatta Children’s Court
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a live-streamed sermon at a Wakeley church on April 15 (pictured), a suspected terrorist incident.
The magistrate said this was a “primary consideration” and found the boy’s alleged explicit threats to stab Jews or Assyrians and an alleged previous assault to be “gravely concerning”.
The teenager held his head up with his hand for much of the hearing as he watched from custody via video link, as his parents sat in court.
The magistrate said he had “no doubt” the parents loved and supported their son, and had confiscated his phone after becoming concerned about his behaviour.
“They’re really shocked by the charges he’s facing,” he said.
After presenting her findings, the boy’s mother left the courtroom crying.
The boy’s lawyer, Ahmed Dib, told reporters outside court that the parents were devastated by the news.
The court previously heard that the boy had been involved in an encrypted chat group titled Plans, where he spoke to co-conspirators who were planning an upcoming attack on Jews or Assyrians.
Prosecutor Rebekah Rodger said the children were not just talking and knew people who had acted on threats.
The magistrate detailed messages supposedly sent by the teenager between April 20 and 21.
‘You don’t want to make any attacks… what about the Jews, brother, what about Palestine? …I’m so cut out, I want to do it so much,’ the teenager allegedly wrote in a message.
“I really want to attack now because I hate these kuffar (non-Muslims) so much. It’s not funny, I want to do jihad now,” another message read.
In one exchange, the teen suggests, “Try not to kill, just stab.”
“The messages clearly stated that the young man wanted to do something catastrophic,” Viney told the court.
A court previously heard the boy claimed to be friends with the 16-year-old accused of stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.
The magistrate also raised concerns about a previous incident in which the teenager was arrested after allegedly throwing a wooden board at a bottle shop worker and allegedly being in possession of a knife at the time.
Dib said his client had a history of behavioral problems, lacked confidence and had low self-esteem.
He said the teen put on a macho act in the messages about carrying out an attack, but questioned whether such a plan was in place.
Two hand-drawn ISIS flags were found in the boy’s bedroom when police raided the family’s home in April, the court previously heard.
The matter is scheduled to return to court on June 21.
