A Pakistan-born architect accused of plotting a "jihad" or holy war bombing campaign in Australia was sentenced to 20 years in jail on Wednesday. Faheem Khalid Lodhi, 36, was convicted of planning to blow up the electrical grid in Australia's biggest city, Sydney.
Supreme Court Judge Anthony Whealy said the attack, if carried out, would "instil terror into members of the public so that they could never again feel free from the threat of bombing attacks within Australia." Lodhi, who denied four counts of preparing to commit a terrorist act, bowed his head but showed no other emotion as he heard the sentence. He had faced a possible life sentence as one of the first to be convicted under tough laws passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Prime Minister John Howard refused to comment directly on the sentence, but told reporters: "The Australian public knows how much I am opposed to terrorism. And the Australian public knows how determined I am to maintain and strengthen where necessary our anti-terrorism laws."
The indictment said Lodhi had "the intent of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause, namely violent Jihad (holy war)." Prosecutors linked Lodhi, also known as Abu Hamza, to Frenchman Willie Brigitte, who was deported in late 2003 after being accused of plotting a major attack in Sydney. Brigitte, who remains in custody in France, is suspected of links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.