R v Khaja (No 1) [2017] NSWSC 1578

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Khaja (No 1) [2017] NSWSC 1578 Date of orders: 13 October 2017 Decision date: 13 October 2017 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Fagan J Decision: Orders made at [33]. Legislation Cited: Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW) Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) Criminal Code (Cth) Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act 1998 (NSW) Cases Cited: BUSB v R [2011] NSWCCA 39 R v Murphy [1990] NI 3I6 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Regina (Crown) Tamim Khaja (accused) Representation: Counsel: Ms Trish McDonald/Mr William Fitzsimmons (Crown) Mr Gregory Scragg (accused) Ms Kristina Stern SC/Ms Sophie Callan (applicant)

Solicitors: Mr Carmelo Ragusa, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Mr Moustafa Kheir, Birchgrove Legal (accused) Mr Matthew Varley, Australian Government Solicitors Office (applicant) File Number(s): 2016/151874

Judgment 1. In connection with an impending criminal trial the Court has before it an application of the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police and an application of the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police for orders to protect the identities of certain Crown witnesses. The proposed orders would include the taking of their evidence on audio visual link and in closed court.

The charges on the indictment 1. The accused has been indicted on two counts of offences contrary to provisions of Pt 5.3 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The first count is that between 11 and 18 May 2016 he did acts in preparation for or planning of a terrorist act. In broad terms the Crown's allegation is that the accused undertook planning and/or preparation for a violent attack to be made upon either a Commonwealth Defence Forces facility in Western Sydney or on the Parramatta Court Complex, in which he would kill many people by gunfire or by detonating an explosive device or both. It is alleged all of this would be in furtherance of the ideological or religious cause of achieving Muslim domination of Australia. 2. The second charge is that between 20 January 2016 and 28 February 2016 the accused engaged in conduct preparatory to entering a foreign country with the intention of engaging in hostile conduct there. On this count the Crown's case is that the accused made preparations to travel to Syria to join the organisation known as Islamic State of Iraq and Sham ("ISIS" or "IS") and to engage in combat as part of that organisation. It is alleged that he was stopped at Sydney Airport. 3. On the first count the core of the Crown's evidence will be records of online conversations in which it is alleged the accused expressly described his plans, sought to procure weapons and sought assistance in equipping himself with an explosive suicide belt. There will be evidence of face-to-face meetings at which the subject of the accused carrying out a lethal attack was discussed.