An Australian jury found a Muslim cleric and five of his followers guilty today of planning to stage a "violent jihad" in Melbourne in 2005 to force Australian troops out of Iraq.
But the jury in Australia's biggest terrorism trial acquitted four other Muslim men and could not decide on the fate of two others after deliberating for four weeks, court officials said.
The prosecutor told the Victoria state Supreme Court that the group had planned to attack a grand final football match in Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, attended by 97,000 fans. The attack did not take place.
The jury heard that Muslim cleric Abdul Benbrika (48), and his followers planned the bomb attack on an Australian Football League (AFL) grand final, but security raids on the homes of some members forced the group to change its target.
Australia has never suffered a peacetime attack on home soil, but more than 90 Australians were killed in bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali since 2002.
Benbrika was found guilty of leading and being a member of an unnamed terrorist body, while his five followers were guilty of being members of a terrorist group.
All 12 men were charged with being members of an unnamed terrorist organisation and planning to use explosives or weapons for an undisclosed terrorist act, with the intention of coercing a government or intimidating the public.
Reuters