A former Melbourne imam who conducted a wedding between a 14-year-old girl and a man more than 20 years her senior has been released immediately on a two-year good behaviour bond, after being sentenced to two months in jail.

The 62-year-old was charged with solemnising, or approving, an illegal marriage when he oversaw the ceremony in the south-eastern suburbs last year.

He had pleaded not guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court but was convicted earlier this year.

Some details, including the imam's name and that of the groom, have been suppressed in order to protect the identity of the girl.

He has already been suspended as an imam and stood down at a mosque.

Magistrate Phillip Goldberg acknowledged the maximum sentence of six months in jail for the offence was not adequate, but said that was a matter for the Parliament.

"You performed a marriage between a high school student and an older man and you were in a position of trust," he said.

The magistrate also fined the man $2,500.

During an earlier sentencing hearing the prosecution argued the man knew the girl was underage.

"This offence involved ... marrying a child to an older man, knowingly," prosecution lawyer Krista Breckweg told the court.

"It was not a mere case of recklessness. He knew she was a child. This was a serious breach of trust."

Ms Breckweg explained that the law states a 16-year-old needed parental permission and consent from a judge to marry.

She said the imam showed a "lack of remorse" and had focussed on his own loss of income and loss of status in the community.

She said he had "no sense of it being wrong" and spoke of his "blanket denials and outright lies" about the incident.

Defence lawyer Daniel Gurvich QC told the court the imam did take responsibility, but there was a "spontaneity of poor judgement and regret".

He also said the girl's mother was present throughout the ceremony.

Mr Gurvich argued against a prison sentence saying it was "not a premeditated criminal offence".

The imam was released on a two-year good behaviour bond after being sentenced to two months in jail. He will serve that time if he breaches the bond.

The 35-year-old groom pleaded guilty to illegally marrying the girl and will be sentenced in September. </s> Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email

A former Imam who married a teenage girl to a man more than twice her age has been spared jail despite being found guilty.

The once revered cleric Ibrahim Omerdic was suspended from his position at Bosnian Islamic Society and Noble Park Mosque in Melbourne, Australia following his arrest.

He had presided over the marriage of a 14-year-old girl to a man aged 34, telling her she must obey her new husband.

Video footage from the ceremony sees Mr Omerdic say: "If [your husband] is happy with something, do it. If [your husband] is not happy with something, don't do it."

The 62-year-old was arrested after the wedding, which took place in September last year, and pleaded not guilty to the charge of unlawfully solemnising the marriage.

(Image: 9 News)

He was sentenced to two months' prison on Wednesday, but immediately placed on a two-year recognisance release order, meaning he won't serve time in jail.

Prosecutor Krista Breckweg said the celebrant should be jailed in order to deter future child weddings.

She said: "This offending involved a man marrying a child to an older man, knowingly.

"There needs to be a message sent to the community that this will not be tolerated."

But Mr Omerdic's defence lawyer, Daniel Gurvich, said this was not a "per-meditated" offence.

Mr Gurvich added: "There was a degree of spontaneity, poor judgement and regret."

At sentencing magistrate Phillip Goldberg said: "You performed a marriage between a high school student and an older man.

"Whatever the view is elsewhere, in Australia marriage is between adults." </s> A former Muslim imam who married off a 14-year-old girl to a 34-year-old man has escaped jail time and placed on a good behaviour order.

Ibrahim Omerdic, 62, was found guilty of solemnising the marriage of the teenage girl and a man, 34, during a ceremony in Noble Park, Melbourne, last September.

Magistrate Phillip Goldberg on Wednesday sentenced Omerdic to two months' prison for his 'serious breach of trust' but released him immediately on a two-year recognisance release order.

Omerdic was an imam of the Bosnian Islamic Society and Noble Park Mosque, but he was suspended after his November arrest over the wedding.

'If (he) is happy with something, do it. If (he) is not happy with something, don't do it,' he tells the girl in the shaky mobile footage.

Omerdic can also be heard telling the child's mother and her betrothed: 'She's very young.'

He had fought the charge, claiming the marriage was not subsequently formalised under Australian law.

But the magistrate was satisfied the ceremony was completed and the marriage occurred, finding Omerdic guilty.

Prosecutor Krista Breckweg said the celebrant showed no remorse for his actions and should be jailed in order to deter child weddings in future.

'This offending involved a man marrying a child to an older man, knowingly,' Ms Breckweg told the court.

'There needs to be a message sent to the community that this will not be tolerated.

'You can't do this.'

Defence lawyer Daniel Gurvich QC said Omerdic had already been suspended as an imam and a Justice of the Peace, and should not be punished further with jail.

'It was not a pre-meditated criminal offence,' Mr Gurvich said.

'There was a degree of spontaneity, poor judgement and regret. </s> SYDNEY, Australia — The wife of an Islamic State group recruiter has given the militants’ single-finger salute outside a Sydney court after becoming the first person convicted under a new state law criminalizing the refusal to stand for a judge.

Moutia Elzahed defiantly remained seated on Friday in the Downing Centre Local Court after magistrate Carolyn Huntsman delivered the landmark decision.

The 50-year-old was found guilty of nine charges of disrespectful behaviour during previous court hearings she was involved in. She will be sentenced in June.

New South Wales introduced the law in 2016 after several Muslim defendants refused to stand for judges on religious grounds.

Elzahed is married to Hamdi Alqudsi, who was sentenced in 2016 to eight years in prison for helping young Australians travel to Syria to fight for extremists. </s> The Vienna Criminal Court sentenced an Austrian man of Albanian descent to nine years in prison on Friday in connection with plans for two Islamist extremist attacks in Germany.

The case highlights the challenges posed by radicalized youth ready to commit acts of terror at home and in neighboring countries.

Read more: Report: 12-year-old planned two bomb attacks in German city of Ludwigshafen

What the court found

The man was found guilty of inciting a 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy to target a Christmas market in the city of Ludwigshafen. The child had tried but failed to detonate an explosive belt at the market in late 2016.

During the trial, the 19-year-old admitted to being a member of the "Islamic State," but downplayed his role in plotting the attacks.

Reacting to his lengthy sentence, he turned defiant, saying: "I don't give a s***!"

What else happened in court?

As well as plotting multiple murders, the defendant was found guilty of membership of a terrorist organization.

The jury found the 19-year-old had incited his wife — whom he married under Sharia Law — to attack the Ramstein Air Base.

The 17-year-old girl with Moroccan heritage said she had fallen in love and let herself be influenced.

The market plotter, now aged 14, tried to cover for his older friend. "The idea was mine," he told the court.

The boy said he had considered beheading a priest, attacking a bus, or a hospital.

Read more: German prisons: 150 dangerous Islamists need deradicalizing, say police

Germany's biggest Islamist trials Failed Bonn bomb The blue bag left on the platform at Bonn's central station in 2012 contained explosives that did not go off, but a city-wide manhunt unfolded. Marco G. was eventually arrested and charged with planting the bomb. Three others are charged with plotting to assassinate a politician from the far-right PRO-NRW party. Their group allegedly drew inspration from an Islamist movement in Uzbekistan.

Germany's biggest Islamist trials Frankfurt airport bus attack In March 2011, Arid Uka shot dead two US servicemen waiting for a bus at Frankfurt airport prior to deployment in Afghanistan. "This is indeed the first Islamic-motivated terror strike to have happened in Germany," the judge said, adding Uka had sought revenge for military operations in Afghanistan. Uka, born in Kosovo, acted alone and was sentenced to life in prison in February 2012.

Germany's biggest Islamist trials The Sauerland Cell The "Sauerland Cell" was a German cell of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), a terrorist group on the Pakistani-Afghan border. The four German and Turkish men had planned large-scale bomb attacks against American targets in Germany from their base in the western region of the Sauerland. Arrested in September 2007, they were sentenced in March 2010 for up to 12 years.

Germany's biggest Islamist trials Sharia Police Sven Lau, a Salafist Muslim, was the man behind a well-known Islamist publicity stunt. In 2014, Lau led several men around the city of Wuppertal in orange security vests labeled "Sharia police." Acting as state authorities, they warned people visiting local clubs and bars to adhere to Sharia, or Islamic law. He is currently on trial for backing a terror group fighting in Syria.

Germany's biggest Islamist trials Big mouth Nils D., a Salafist from Dinslaken, joined the "Islamic State" in Syria in October 2013. He tracked down the group's deserters - armed with explosives and guns. He returned to Germany a year later, and boastful statements about his time in Syria eventually got him arrested. He confessed the names of other German Islamic extremists and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail.

Germany's biggest Islamist trials "Biggest mistake of my life" On the final day of Harry S.'s July 2016 trial, he said "going to Syria was the biggest mistake of my life." The Bremen-born Muslim convert spent three months with "Islamic State" in Syria in 2015. He wanted out after civilians were murdered for a short recruitment film he helped make. He was sentenced to three years in jail for being part of a foreign terrorist organization.



What happens next?

Defense lawyer Wolfgang Blaschilz said he would consider appealing.

Blaschilz said the nine-year sentence was "way too much," and added that his client's deradicalization process was underway.

Read more: Preventing terrorism: What powers do German security forces have?

kw/sms (AP, dpa)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> The wife of an Islamic State group recruiter has become the first person convicted under a law criminalising the refusal to stand for a judge in Australia.

Moutia Elzahed, 50, raised a finger to the sky to perform the IS salute outside of a Sydney court after the proceedings.

She was found guilty of nine charges of disrespectful behaviour during previous court hearings she was involved in. She will be sentenced on June 15.

Elzahed, dressed in a black niqab, gown and gloves, sat with her arms folded in the Downing Centre Local Court after magistrate Carolyn Huntsman delivered the landmark decision.

New South Wales introduced the law in 2016 after several Muslim defendants refused to stand for judges, citing religious grounds.

The magistrate found Elzahed had repeatedly and intentionally flouted the established court convention in 2016.

CCTV showed Elzahed failed to rise in court nine times, with each offence carrying a maximum jail term of 14 days and a A$1,100 (£610) fine.

Elzahed said she only stood for Allah, but Ms Huntsman found no evidence she had acted on a genuine religious belief.

"No evidence was presented that the teachings of Islam compel this conduct," the magistrate said.

Elzahed made an unsuccessful attempt to sue the state and federal governments on claims of police violence and wrongful imprisonment over a raid on her Sydney home.

Elzahed is married to Hamdi Alqudsi, who was sentenced in 2016 to eight years in prison for helping Australians travel to Syria to fight for extremists. </s> Melbourne terrorist plot: Four charged, one in custody over alleged Christmas Day attack plan

Updated

Police have disrupted a terrorist plot to detonate improvised explosive devices at locations in central Melbourne, possibly on Christmas Day, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.

Key points: Police believe plot involved use of explosives and other weapons and could have been planned for Christmas Day

High profile locations including Federation Square and Flinders Street Station were targeted, police say

Five people arrested still in custody and are being questioned by police

Seven people were arrested during overnight raids on Thursday at properties in Flemington, Meadow Heights and Dallas in Melbourne over the alleged plot, which police said was inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Abdullah Chaarani 26 of Dallas, 21-year-old Hamza Abbas of Flemington and 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamad of Meadow Heights have been charged with planning a terrorist attack.

The trio appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and were taken into custody and will return in April.

A 22-year-old man from Broadmeadows was charged with the same offence hours later. He is due to appear in court this morning.

A 20-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, both from Meadow Heights, and 21-year-old man from Gladstone Park, were released without charge.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews described the plot as an "act of evil", while Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said police had seized "the makings of an improvised explosive device".

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Mr Turnbull said: "Overnight our police and security agencies have disrupted a very substantial terrorist plot.

"Overnight, the Victoria Police, working with the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, have arrested seven persons, five of whom are still in custody, searched five premises and are continuing to search them.

Who was arrested? A 24-year-old man from Meadow Heights

A 26-year-old man from Dallas

A 22-year-old man from Campbellfield

A 21-year-old man from Flemington

A 21-year-old man from Gladstone Park

A 20-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, both from Meadow Heights, have been released without charge Source: Victoria Police Source: Victoria Police

"What they have uncovered is a plot to explode improvised explosive devices in central Melbourne in the area of Federation Square, on or about Christmas Day.

"This is one of the most substantial terrorist plots that have been disrupted over the last several years."

The raids were part of a counter-terrorism operation involving Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO.

Federation Square, Flinders Street Station possible targets

Commissioner Ashton said it was believed a number of people were intending to carry out an attack involving explosives and other weapons.

"Over the last fortnight … we have had to conduct a criminal investigation relating to the formation of what we believe was a terrorist plot," he said.

"We believe that there was an intention to conduct what we call a multi-mode attack, possibly on Christmas Day.

Police believe the locations to be targeted include Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, and St Paul's Cathedral.

Commissioner Ashton said: "We believe [the plot] was going to involve an explosive event, the use of explosives, and we gathered evidence to support that.

"There has also been evidence that we will lead around the possibility of an intention to use other weapons. That could include knives and/or a firearm.

"Certainly these [people] are self-radicalised, we believe, but inspired by ISIS and ISIS propaganda."

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Seven arrested in connection with alleged Christmas Day terrorist plot (ABC News)

Commissioner Ashton said four of the five were Australian-born with a Lebanese background.

"There is another suspect in this matter who will be charged that was an Egyptian-born Australian citizen. All the others were Australian-born," he said.

While Premier Andrews said the planned attack was not an act of faith, One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson said the raids demonstrated why there should be a ban on Muslim immigration to Australia.

"You're not welcome here. Go and find some other place that suits your needs, your customs, your way of life and your faith," she said.

Premier Andrews said there would be an increased police presence at large gatherings in Victoria over the Christmas period.

"This is not an act of faith. What was being planned, what will be led in evidence, what the police will allege, was not an act of faith, not an act of religious observance, it was, instead, in its planning, an act of evil, a criminal act," he said.

Commissioner Ashton said he spoke to Cricket Australia about providing additional security at the MCG during the Boxing Day Test, which starts on Monday.

Topics: police, law-crime-and-justice, flemington-3031, vic, melbourne-3000, australia

First posted </s> The Vienna Criminal Court sentenced an Austrian man of Albanian descent to nine years in prison on Friday in connection with plans for two Islamist extremist attacks in Germany.

The case highlights the challenges posed by radicalized youth ready to commit acts of terror at home and in neighboring countries.

Read more: Report: 12-year-old planned two bomb attacks in German city of Ludwigshafen
• The man was found guilty of inciting a 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy to target a Christmas market in the city of Ludwigshafen. The child had tried but failed to detonate an explosive belt at the market in late 2016.
• During the trial, the 19-year-old admitted to being a member of Islamic State but downplayed his role in plotting the attacks.
• Reacting to his lengthy sentence, the turned defiant, saying: "I don't give a s***!" </s> A German couple have been jailed for selling their 9-year-old son to paedophiles for sex on the dark web.

The 48-year-old woman and her 39-year-old partner were also convicted of repeatedly raping the boy, now 10, and filming the abuse.

They were both sentenced to 12 years in prison in a case that has horrified the country.

The sickening abuse lasted for more than two years, the Freiburg state court heard this week.

A 33-year-old Spanish man who was offered the boy for sex by his mother was found guilty of repeatedly raping him.

The man, whose name wasn’t released for German privacy reasons, was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined €18,000 euros (£16,080).

He admitted paying the woman and her partner €10,000 euros (£8,930) to rape the boy multiple times in the town of Staufen in southern Germany.

Police arrested the couple last year after being tipped off by an anonymous person.

Three German men and one Swiss citizen have already been convicted in separate trials.

The Freiburg state court ruled that the 39-year-old man must remain in preventive custody after serving his sentence.
An Imam in Australia who married a 14 year old to a 34 year old will not face jail time despite conviction.