Some Victorians Fearful Over Prohibition From Revealing Identity Of Minor Behind Botched Mother's Day Attack; Culprit Rants Online Before Arrest

Vital details of the case of a minor who allegedly plotted to inflict terror in Victoria may never be revealed. Some Victorians expressed fears the identity of the 17-year-old culprit behind the botched attempt of Mother’s Day terror will never be released to public under the present legislation.

Herald Sun reports that should the prohibition from disclosing minor’s identity is imposed on the case of the teenager arrested on Friday, May 8, then there will also be a corollary ban on reporting about the boy’s political beliefs, religion, appearance or hobbies. This means that information such as details of foiled alleged plot will not be disclosed as well.

And since the accused’s identity has an indefinite protection against disclosure due to his minority, he will never be traced to the purported fumbled terror machination, according to the report.

“Because it is a serious crime, it is our right to know as a community. This is about all of us, every single one of us,” said Janine Greening, an advocate of ForgetMeNot Foundation. She added that the community has the right to know who threatened the life of many Victorians because the alleged offence was serious.

Greening expressed her opinion that although the laws prohibiting disclosure of identity of youths in conflict with laws, there ought to be a demarcation to draw the line between petty offences and terrorism. “This is an alleged terrorist offence, and if police are right about what he was planning, we cannot be complacent about it. It would be treating us with disrespect,” Greening was quoted by Herald Sun.

Online Tirade

A week before the teen’s arrest, the boy had been whining about Islam on his Facebook account, sparking anger among his friends. The teen posted that if a person finds a Muslim in possession of a bomb and that person reports to the police, the one who tipped the authorities is an “apostate.”

One comment the teen got from that post was a criticism, saying the boy took every verse of Qu’ran literally and that is why there are extremist groups today. Another friend argued with the teen and said that anyone having a bomb at home should be labelled a “terrorist.” While the minor perpetrator said it is not okay to attack innocent people by explosives, he argued against reporting such plots.

The minor also complained on Facebook a day after someone tipped off the authorities about him that young Muslim advocates of Sharia law were monitored by the police, who may also possibly take their passports away. Just before going to the court on Monday, he posted that appearing before the courts is “seeking judgment from man-made laws, and will make you an apostate.”

For comments or feedback on the article, contact the writer at kizmet@ymail.com.