Aussie terrorist

The week's news at a glance.

Sydney

An Australian al Qaida member was sentenced to nine years in prison this week for plotting to blow up the Israeli Embassy and Jewish targets in Canberra four years ago. Jack Roche, a Muslim convert, changed his plea to guilty halfway through his trial and admitted that he had met with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, as well as Osama bin Laden. Roche carried out surveillance of the embassy and plotted kidnappings of Jewish leaders, but senior al Qaida leaders eventually called off the plots. The first person to be convicted under Australia’s anti-terror law, Roche will be eligible for parole in three years. “I think a lot of terrorists would look at that and laugh,” said Jewish leader Joseph Gutnick, one of Roche’s intended targets. “They’d be pretty happy.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us