SYDNEY -- Australian police charged a
man Thursday with terrorism offenses following raids in which they
seized firearms, computer equipment and a USB stick containing what they
said were "violent extremist materials."
Officers
swooped onto properties in six Melbourne suburbs Wednesday in a
simultaneous raid, the Australian Federal Police and Victoria state
police said in a joint statement. The 23-year-old, whose name was not
released, was charged with four counts of collecting or making documents
likely to facilitate terrorist acts. If convicted, he could face a
maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Among
the police targets was the Al-Furqan Islamic Information Centre, which
hosts an Islamic book store and library and offers youth activities,
daily prayers and classes. The center's representatives did not respond
to calls and emails Thursday, though a spokesman on Wednesday confirmed
that police spent about 12 hours inside and took several items.
Steve
Fontana, Victoria police assistant commissioner for crime, said police
had identified no immediate threats to public safety.
"We will continue to work to ensure that all steps are taken to protect all members of the community," he said.
Terrorism
expert Greg Barton, director of Monash University's Centre for Islam
and the Modern World, said the Al-Furqan center represents the "fringe
of the fringe."
"Their talk is extreme on
their website -- they've got a link to an interview with Anwar
al-Awlaki, the former Yemeni-American leader to al-Qaeda," he said. "So
there's no question they're flying their colors in a fairly flagrant
fashion."
Still, the group only attracts a few
dozen regular members, has no broad influence and had garnered little
attention until Wednesday's raids, Barton said.
"They'd
ordinarily be a group that's all talk and no action except for the
possibility somebody might take on board their ideas and move on and go
abroad," Barton said. "It's got stepping stone potential, I think, which
is why the authorities were watching them."
Over
the past few weeks, the group made several postings on its Facebook
page and website referencing a "spy" that had been uncovered in their
community. It was not clear from the postings what specifically the
group was referring to.
Barton said he
suspects that once the group began posting publicly about being under
surveillance, authorities decided to move in.
Police declined to comment on the spying allegations.
Associated Press