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'Jihad Jack' 1st Australian to be jailed under terrorism laws+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)SYDNEY, March 31_(Kyodo) _ A former Melbourne taxi driver who trained in terrorist camps in Afghanistan became the first Australian on Friday to be jailed under the country's new counterterrorism laws. Joseph Thomas, 32, was sentenced by a judge to five years in prison for intentionally receiving money from terrorist group al-Qaida and holding a false passport, the Australian Associated Press reported. Thomas, dubbed "Jihad Jack" by the Australian media, had faced a maximum 25-year sentence but a jury found the Muslim convert not guilty of agreeing to act as a sleeper agent in Australia. He visited Pakistan and received weapons training at al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Thomas admitted in court to accepting A$4,700 ($3,500) and an airline ticket to fly back to Australia from Khaled bin Attash, an associate of Osama bin Laden. |