Teenagers Accused of Extremist Ideology Charges
Five teenagers in Melbourne, Australia, have been charged with a range of offenses related to a violent extremist ideology. The investigation stemmed from the stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church, as revealed by the police on Thursday.
Arrests and Charges
The five teenagers were part of a group of seven boys arrested in southwestern Sydney in a major operation conducted by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team. This team comprises federal and state police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and the New South Wales Crime Commission, which focuses on extremists and organized crime.
- Two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old were charged with conspiring to engage in or planning a terrorist act. The older boy also faced charges for carrying a knife in public.
- The other two, aged 14 and 17, were charged with possessing or controlling violent extremist material accessed online.
Police Operation and Investigation
Over 400 police officers executed 13 search warrants in properties across southwestern Sydney and one in Goulburn, located about 200 kilometers south of Sydney.
New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson stated that the arrested boys were influenced by a religiously motivated, violent extremist ideology.
Incident Details
The network allegedly involved the 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing Assyrian Orthodox bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Rev. Isaac Royel during a church service that was livestreamed on April 15. The boy was charged with committing a terrorist act, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The two clerics survived the attack, which followed another recent stabbing incident in Sydney where a man with a history of mental illness was shot dead by police after a violent rampage in a shopping mall.