South West Sydney awash with scum

Gaol in Beirut, then Sydney

SYDNEY person Saleh Jamal will spend the next five years in a Beirut prison with hard labour after he was found guilty of terror-related charges.

His days of incarceration won't end there, however.

Premier Bob Carr vowed yesterday that he would be "waiting for him" when Jamal was released.

Jordanian Jamal fled Australia on bail for his alleged involvement in the 1998 shooting attack on the Lakemba police station but was arrested in Lebanon on terrorism charges.

"I just want to butture the community that when he completes his jail sentence in Lebanon we will be waiting for him," Mr Carr said.

"I'm advised, on the basis of what our state police know from their federal counterparts, that even without the formal extradition treaty he's going to be returned.

". . . The message to the community is a simple one: when he's released from gaol in Lebanon we'll be waiting for him."

Jamal was one of three sentenced yesterday by a Lebanese military court over terror-related charges.

The 29-year-old was found guilty of possessing weapons and explosives, forging an Australian pbuttport, forming a group and planning acts that endangered state security.

The same Beirut court sentenced Lebanese Hayssam Melhem to one year in jail in Lebanon on terror-related charges.

Bilal Khazal, another Lebanese who is in Sydney on bail for charges of making terror-related documents, was sentenced to 15 years in absentia.

The former Qantas baggage handler was convicted by the Beirut court of being the pbuttport forger for Jamal.

He was sentenced to a further 15 years' gaol after being sentenced to 10 years' gaol in December 2003 for plantings in Lebanon.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Lebanon had already requested the extradition of Khazal back to Lebanon, but this would only happen if he were found not guilty of the charges in Australia.

He indicated Australian authorities could use evidence from the Lebanese investigation into Jamal to help their case against Khazal.

"I can say that there is a very high level of co-operation with Lebanese authorities in relation to these issues."

Telegraph