Australia to build Supermax high-security unit for terrorists

A masked man speaking in what is believed to be a North American accent in a video that Islamic State militants released in September 2014 is pictured in this still frame from video obtained by Reuters October 7, 2014. Reuters/FBI/Handout via Reuter

Australia is planning to build a new prison intended solely for militants amid the rise of Islamist-inspired attacks. The move seeks to prevent the radicalisation of other inmates.

The “mini-max” jail will be part of Goulburn Supermax Correctional Centre, a security prison complex for male prisoners in New South Wales. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the project on Sunday, stressing they do not want to see those already imprisoned being subject to radicalisation.

The government plans to spend $47 million in the next three years for the new jail. Dubbed as Supermax II, it is expected to house 54 prisoners around plenty of CCTV cameras. The project is likely to be completed by the end of 2018.

Supermax II

Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin said the number of inmates held on extremist charges more than doubled since 2013. Out of 45 Supermax inmates, 33 have been either convicted or charged with terrorism-related offences.

“We keep the al-Qaida affiliates, who are highly disciplined and very dogmatic, away from the IS affiliates, who are unruly young tearaways who engage in noisy behaviour and challenge everyone and everybody,” Severin told the Telegraph. He explained that it is about preventing a situation where people have unduly influence over others across the system.

He added the government will be able to keep the rest of the system safe by centralising those who have the potential to cause the most harm. NSW Corrections Minister David Elliott also commented about the new unit, suggesting it was a decision Australia had to make, as cited by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Elliott said there are too many terrorists in Supermax at Goulburn. He added that the war against terror has another decade or two to go, so they’re preparing for the fact that more capability may be needed.

Some of Australia’s most notorious criminals are in the prison complex. Among them is Ivan Milat, a serial killer from 1990s. Some convicted extremists involved in the 2005 Sydney terrorist attacks are also among the inmates at the said facility.

The announcement of the new jail comes after a hostage situation in Melbourne. Somali-born Yacqub Khayre took a woman hostage, a siege that claimed the life of a man as well as the attacker. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officials later claimed Khayre was on parole. He was allegedly involved in a 2009 terrorist plot to attack the army barracks in Sydney.

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