One of Australia's most notorious domestic terrorists has been released from prison after experts accepted his risk could be “effectively managed” in the community.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika took his first steps as a free man on Tuesday after Judge Elizabeth Hollingworth delivered her verdict.
He was picked up by supporters in a black vehicle before being taken from Barwon Prison, a high-risk maximum security facility near Geelong.
The first photos of Benbrika after he was released show his previously black beard has turned gray following his time behind bars.
Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika was released from prison on Tuesday
Photographers first saw Benbrika after he left prison as a free man
Photos show Benbrika's beard had turned gray during his time behind bars
He is seen half-shrouded in darkness, staring at photographers from the backseat as the car drives away.
Hours earlier, he appeared remotely in the Victorian Supreme Court, where the judge heard two competing cases.
Lawyers acting on his behalf had asked the court to review the continuing detention order that had kept him in custody since his prison sentence expired three years ago.
On the other side of the bar, Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus had argued that the court should place Benbrika under community supervision after his detention order expires on December 23.
Before his sentence expired in 2020, former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton successfully applied for the order, which allows courts to keep convicted terrorists behind bars if they pose an ongoing danger to the community.
Judge Hollingworth said the evidence 'clearly demonstrates' that Benbrika has made substantial progress towards deradicalisation in recent years
Benbrika was picked up by supporters in a black ute before being taken away from Barwon Prison (pictured)
The same year, Mr Dutton canceled Benbrika's Australian citizenship under a controversial law that the Supreme Court majority found invalid last month.
This restored his citizenship and threw into disarray plans to place Benbrika in immigration detention and deport him.
Judge Hollingworth said in her judgment that the evidence “clearly demonstrates” that Benbrika has made substantial progress towards deradicalisation in recent years.
But she accepted that the risk of him radicalizing others was “still unacceptable at this time”.
“The risk of offending is now low enough that it can be managed effectively in the community under a comprehensive ESO (extended supervision order),” she said.
“This will be the first time Mr Benbrika has lived in the community since his arrest almost two decades ago.
Barwon Prison is a high-risk, maximum security facility near Geelong, Victoria
'Much of the expert evidence about how he will fare is based on predictions and judgments… Only time will tell. In the meantime, the community will be protected by the comprehensive and comprehensive orders.”
The court was told that Benbrika did not pose a risk of a 'lone wolf' offence, but a risk of influencing others.
“Rather, the general nature of the risk posed by Mr Benbrika is that he would radicalize others or encourage them to engage in acts of religiously inspired violence,” Judge Hollingworth said.
Experts gave differing opinions on his risk: the government's expert rated him as moderate-low, while an international expert, called by his lawyers, assessed him as “low risk.”
The court was told Benbrika did not pose a risk of a 'lone wolf' offense but a risk of influencing others
His presence in the community will be subject to extensive conditions, including police surveillance and restrictions on his movement, communications and associations for the next 12 months.
He will also have to continue to work with a psychiatrist and deradicalisation expert – at the Commonwealth's expense.
If these conditions are violated, he faces a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Benbrika was jailed for 15 years in 2009 after being convicted on charges of directing a terrorist organization that was preparing to carry out a terror attack.
The Algerian-born man's trial was told that he had an “enormous influence” on the young men who followed him and tried to instill a fanatical hatred of non-Muslims.
He formed and led a group that advocated violent jihad against infidels, regularly speaking of committing acts of violence to force the Australian government to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Speaking to a follower, he called for killing a thousand people “like Spain”, referring to the March 2004 train terror attacks in Madrid.
One of his co-accused, who later turned around and became a prosecution witness, provided the only evidence of a target, saying Benbrika identified the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the AFL grand final, Crown Casino during the Grand Prix in August 2005 weekend and the NAB Cup as 'possible targets'.
However, that evidence was rejected by Judge Bernard Bongiorno as 'false and purely intended to serve his own purposes' when he convicted Benbrika and his co-offenders.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika at Sydney Airport after flying in under an assumed name
Judge Hollingworth was scathing about Mr Dutton's failure to fulfill his legal duty by failing to make public a key report when the detention order was imposed three years ago.
The Corner report, commissioned by the Home Office, was critical of the VERA-2R tool used to assess Benbrika's risk of reoffending, finding it had poor predictive value.
“It is not reasonable to expect that the instruments can predict their specified risk based on anything other than chance,” the report said.
Judge Hollingworth was also critical of Mr Dreyfus' inability to meet deadlines in the case, but admitted this 'appears to be contributed' by Mr Dutton's failure.
Benbrika will be released from prison on Tuesday afternoon and will live with his wife and other family members.
Before the ruling, the attorney general's office said the Commonwealth had sought the “strongest possible terms” but could not seek a new detention order because it was not supported by the evidence.
The Commonwealth can apply to extend or modify its supervision conditions before the year-long order expires in December 2024.
After the ruling, Dreyfus said the government would “carefully consider” Judge Hollingworth's written decisions before determining next steps.
“Every day, safety and law enforcement officers across Australia work to keep our community safe. We have confidence in our agencies,” he said.
'Today the Victorian Supreme Court imposed an ESO on Mr Benbrika with 30 strict conditions… The Court found that these conditions were sufficient to protect the community.