THE TELEGRAPH: Five men convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in Australia will spend between 23 to 28 years in prison after a Sydney judge handed them the maximum sentences for their crimes.
Justice Anthony Whealy of the New South Wales Supreme Court said he had little hope that the men, aged 25 to 44, could be rehabilitated, saying they were motivated by "intolerant, inflexible religious conviction" and had shown contempt for the Australian government, its leaders and laws.
In October last year, at the end of Australia's longest ever trial, a jury found the Sydney men guilty of conspiring to commit a terrorist act or acts.
Their exact target or targets have never been identified.
The men, Australian-born or naturalised citizens with Muslim immigrant backgrounds, had all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During the 10-month trial, the court heard the five jihadists wanted to terrify and intimidate the Australian public and the government in retaliation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Monday, February 15, 2010
