Two men charged for aiding Farhad Jabar in murder of Curtis Cheng UPDATE: Raban Alou presented before the court
Police have arrested and charged two men for allegedly radicalising and aiding 15-year-old Sydney boy Farhad Jabar, who killed police employee Curtis Cheng outside the NSW police headquarters in Parramatta on Oct. 2.
The men were arrested after raids across western Sydney last week but were not charged until Thursday. The 22-year-old Merrylands West man, Talal Alameddine, has been charged with the Supply of Firearm, Breach of a Firearms Prohibition Order, and for hindering police, while the 18-year-old, named Raban Alou, was charged with the Commonwealth offence of aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring the commission of a terrorist act.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin claimed that the investigation is going to take time and there are many more details to emerge after further interrogation.
The 18-year-old was presented in front of the Central Local Court on Friday morning and officially denied bail, while Alameddine will be presented to the Parramatta Local Court later on Friday. “Two men have been arrested today in relation to the murder of Curtis Cheng,” NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told a joint press conference with Colvin on Thursday.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald , Alou refused to appear on the video-link screen when he first entered the court. Police made allegations in the court, saying that he was the person who sourced the firearm used by Jabar to hit Cheng on the back of his head.
The documents presented in the court stated that the whole act was carried out between 9:30 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. on Oct. 2. Within those seven hours, Alou met his family and friends, including Alameddine, whom he met with twice that day.
Alameddine was suspected to handle a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver to Alou between 1:40 p.m. and 2:55 p.m. at Merrylands on the said date. Alou’s call records and his telephone locations have been tracked to get details of his movements on the day Jabar killed Cheng.
However Alou’s lawyer Moustafa Kheir said outside the court that there is no direct proof to prove his guilt and that his client will fight all the charges.
Colvin said that the entire incident brought to light complexity of assembling facts and evidence to unveil terrorism issues.
“I have said repeatedly our first priority is the safety of the community and today the laying of charges against these two men should reassure the community, that where there is evidence of criminal offending, we will find it and act,” he added.
However, Colvin said the AFP would not speculate on the connections between the men for the time being.
Alameddine was released from custody after being arrested during a Western Sydney raid by the police. He was later arrested again by detectives of the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad on Thursday.
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