Australian man arrested for allegedly helping ISIS by sending 10,000 files of propaganda
A 65-year-old man from Melbourne has been arrested for allegedly being a member of ISIS and sending 10,000 execution and torture files as part of his role as an online propagandist.
ASIO, Australian Federal Police, and Victoria Police arrested Mohamed Bakit on Wednesday after raiding his home in Carlton, where he lives with his wife.
Mohamed Bakit has been arrested for allegedly being a member of ISIS. AFP
Bakit is expected to be charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, possessing and controlling violent extremist material, and using a carriage service to cause offence.
He could face ten years’ imprisonment and was due to front the Melbourne Magistrates Court later on Wednesday.
The joint investigation began after Border Force officers found suspicious material on the man’s devices but allowed him to fly out of Melbourne Airport for Egypt in November 2020.
He was travelling solo and remained overseas for about six months before returning to Australia.
AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Counter-Terrorism Paula Hudson said an examination of the devices later revealed he had allegedly viewed and shared ISIS material, pledged allegiance to ISIS and acted as an online propagandist.
He is alleged to have sent about 10,000 files of violent extremist material as part of his role between November 2015 and July 2020.
This allegedly included videos, images, audio files, documents and messages of executions, torture, and ISIS propaganda purporting to be from battlefields.
AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Counter-Terrorism Paula Hudson. 9News
He is also accused of providing instructional guides teaching people how to carry out mass casualty attacks.
“The scale and dissemination [by] this man placed him as a principal distributor of ISIS propaganda within the group,” Hudson told reporters.
“The material glorified acts of violence and terrorism, spreading hateful ideology that is designed to radicalise others.”
The 65-year-old also allegedly shared information about avoiding detection from authorities, along with instructions on how to plan and conduct mass casualty attacks.
Hudson said Bakit was not linked to any attacks and did not leave Australia to travel to ISIS-controlled territories.
She said there was no evidence of further offending while he was under covert investigation.
But she suggested that more offences could be identified and charges laid as authorities examine devices seized during the raid on Wednesday.
Bakit was allegedly part of a large online group, with some members in Australia.
There are expected to be more arrests as investigations continue.
Acting Home Affairs Minister Michelle Rowland said the accused should face the full force of the law.
“There is no place in our country for any kind of extremism, racially or religiously-motivated prejudice or hate,” she said.
“All Australians, no matter who they are, have a right to be safe.”
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