Summary

On 18 December 2020, Radwan Dakkak was convicted of two offences of associating with a terrorist organisation. He intentionally associated with Isaac El Matari, Sheikh Hassan Hussein, and Ahlut-Tawhid Publications (ATP), knowing they were members of or promoted Islamic State. On 31 December 2020, just before his release, the Federal Court made an interim control order.

Justice Yates found Dakkak had adhered to an extremist ideology consistent with Islamic State since at least 2015. He actively promoted and supported ISIS through social media. He presented an ongoing risk despite claiming to have renounced his beliefs. The Court imposed restrictions on his communications, technology use, and associations for 12 months.

Key Facts

Between January and July 2019, Dakkak associated with Isaac El Matari, who was preparing to travel to Afghanistan to engage in hostile activities with ISIS Khorasan Province. Dakkak made enquiries with a person in Syria about contacts in Khorasan who could help El Matari travel through Pakistan. He counselled El Matari to be careful and not to advise the AFP of his intentions.

Between July 2017 and July 2019, Dakkak was actively involved with Ahlut-Tawhid Publications, a pro-ISIS media operation that translates and disseminates ISIS material including the online publication "From Dabiq to Rome." He assisted ATP with translation, promotion and distribution of pro-ISIS material. He helped produce and distribute videos. On 26 April 2019, Dakkak pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and required his fiancee to do the same before he would marry her. He renewed this pledge on 24 May 2019.

Dakkak maintained a prolific online presence since 2015. He used numerous social media accounts to share and distribute ISIS propaganda and imagery. His posts espoused pro-Salafi-jihadist content, quotes from pro-ISIS clerics, and links to extremist material. He cross-promoted content across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram, operating under his own name, his kunya "Abu Bakr At-Tarabulsi," and various aliases.

Before his arrest on 2 July 2019, Dakkak told associates he was in regular contact with Sheikh Hassan Hussein, who provided him with religious guidance on Salafi-jihadism. This association gave legitimacy to Dakkak's views amongst associates who held similar views. Throughout incarceration, Dakkak maintained contact with associates who held extremist views, had been convicted of terrorism offences, or had links to other extremists, including Adnan Elkassir, Hozan Alou, Abdullah Azari, Talal Alameddine, and Mohammad Junaid Thorne.

The sentencing judge noted clear evidence of radicalisation and found no evidence Dakkak had been de-radicalised. Dakkak denied being an Islamic extremist or sharing ISIS views. The Court treated these assertions with caution given his frequent access to extremist material dating to at least 2015, his use of pseudonyms to stay hidden from government, his encouragement of El Matari to keep plans private, and that the assertions came when they served his interests in his criminal proceedings.

Orders / Outcome

The Court made a control order for 12 months from 31 December 2020. Curfew between 11pm and 5am. Bi-weekly reporting to Parramatta Police Station. Exclusion from airports, ports, prisons, and firearms locations. Dakkak was prohibited from leaving Australia or NSW, possessing firearms or large vehicles, and accessing most social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp, and gaming applications.

The order prohibited Dakkak from communicating with 11 specified individuals: Isaac El Matari, Hozan Alou, Abdullah Azari, Adnan Elkassir, Wisam Haddad, Sheikh Hassan Hussein, Ahmad Teyba, Mohammad Junaid Thorne, Joseph Saadieh, Seeyar Siddiqi, and Youssef Uweinat. He was also prohibited from contacting anyone in Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Somalia, the West Bank, Yemen, Sudan, Philippines, or Indonesia except close family members regarding family matters.

Dakkak was restricted to one AFP-provided mobile phone and computer, and one approved internet service and email account. He could not access or possess documents relating to terrorism, explosives, firearms, or propaganda for terrorist organisations, with exemptions for material broadcast by mainstream media. The order prohibited him from making public statements about terrorism, violence, or following fatwas of specified clerics including Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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