AFP arrests 65-year-old Somali-born man alleged to be ISIS ‘principal’ propagandist in Melbourne
Victoria’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team raided an inner-Melbourne home on Wednesday morning and will allege the Australian citizen pushed a large cache of Islamic State material, including how-to guides for mass killing, after a years-long covert probe that began with an airport device seizure in 2021.
Victoria’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team arrested a 65-year-old man in Carlton on Wednesday morning over what police will put to court as membership of Islamic State and a role as an online propagandist for the terror group.
He is expected to face charges including being a member of ISIS, possessing and controlling violent extremist material, and using a carriage service to cause offence. AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner for Counterterrorism Paula Hudson told a doorstop that officers would allege he was a “principal distributor of ISIS propaganda within the group.”
Police will allege that, from late 2018 through mid-2020, he circulated roughly ten thousand ISIS-linked items. Hudson’s account covers execution and torture imagery, audio, written files and messages dressed up as battlefield propaganda, content she said was meant to radicalise others and glorified violence and terrorism.
Investigators will also allege he passed on how-to material for staging mass killings and tips for staying under the radar of police. Officers further allege he pledged allegiance to the organisation. They do not allege he went abroad into territory Islamic State held while the caliphate still controlled ground. Leaving Australia for that purpose is a separate offence under Commonwealth law.
The case did not begin with Wednesday’s raid. Hudson said Australian Border Force took electronic devices holding “suspicious material” when he flew out of Melbourne, and the AFP opened a covert investigation in 2021. “Certainly the individual has been closely monitored throughout that time,” she said. On the police case, the alleged distribution window ended in mid-2020, yet the man remained under watch for years before the Carlton search.
Hudson put his time in Egypt at around half a year and would not say what he did there. He was living with his wife at the time of the arrest. He is an Australian citizen. She told reporters the public faces no continuing danger from him and that he is not accused of plotting strikes. The probe is ongoing, and she did not rule out further arrests.
Rukshan Fernando
Rebel News Australia Content Manager and Commentator
Rukshan Fernando is an Australian political commentator, filmmaker, and journalist. He is known for his on-the-ground coverage and livestreams of protests and social issues, with a strong focus on stories often overlooked by the mainstream media. As a Content Manager and Reporter with Rebel News Australia, Rukshan works alongside Australia Bureau Chief Avi Yemini to bring the other side of the story from down under.
