Jury convicts Sydney man of terrorism offense

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-10 16:20

SYDNEY, Australia -- A former Australian airline baggage handler was convicted of a terrorism offense Wednesday for publishing a book on the Internet about how to carry out holy war against non-Muslims.

A New South Wales state Supreme Court jury convicted Sydney resident Belal Sadallah Khazaal on a charge of producing a book knowing it was connected with assisting in a terrorist act.

The 38-year-old former Qantas Airways employee had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

The jury will continue deliberations Thursday on a second charge of attempting to urge others to commit a terrorist act. It was not immediately clear what sentence that offense carries.

Both charges, created under tough counterterrorism legislation passed in 2002, relate to a 110-page book published on the Internet in 2003.

At the beginning of Khazaal's trial on August 13, prosecutor Peter Neil told the jurors that the book promoted terrorist acts including explosion of bombs, shooting down planes and assassinations.

Khazaal's lawyer, George Thomas, argued that except for a few paragraphs written by his client, the book had been compiled from material that was already freely available on the Internet.

The prosecution has not alleged that Khazael's book led to a terrorist act.