Summary
Sameh Bayda and Alo-Bridget Namoa, both aged 18, were sentenced for conspiring to prepare for a terrorist act planned for New Year's Eve 2015. The case documents two distinct radicalization pathways: Bayda was taught "militant Islam" at age 15 by "religious teachers at a bookstore and prayer hall." Namoa was recruited at age 14 by "two female street preachers" who introduced her to Islam, one of whom was later killed fighting in Syria.
The conspiracy involved a planned street attack on intoxicated non-Muslims on New Year's Eve 2015. Baseball bat and knives. The attack was aborted at the last moment when Bayda "froze" at the scene.
Both offenders subsequently renounced their extremist views. Justice Fagan found their jihadist beliefs were "a childish phase from which she has matured" (Namoa). Bayda had abandoned Islam altogether because he could not separate the religion from what he perceived as its command of violence.
Key Facts
Sameh Bayda was born in Sydney to Lebanese parents who practiced a "moderate" form of Islam with no hostility to non-Muslims or Australian laws. At age 15 in mid-2013, he began attending "Bukhari House, an Islamic bookstore and prayer meeting room in Auburn" where he was taught by "two men in their late 20s" who "believed in jihad... so they followed like same beliefs as ISIS, al-Qaeda."
Bayda testified these instructors showed him "verses about jihad in the Quran" and "spoke about the violent activities" of the Prophet and his companions, teaching him to view ISIS and al-Qaeda propaganda as consistent with "the right interpretation of Islam." He ceased contact with these Islamic instructors in August 2014.
Alo-Bridget Namoa was born in Sydney to Tongan parents who were Christian. At age 14 in 2012, she was approached by "two female street preachers" who recruited her to Islam. The judgment records that one of these street preachers' husband "was subsequently killed while fighting in Syria and the woman herself was later killed there."
Namoa's letter to the Court: "being the extremely impulsive and curious 14½-year-old girl that I was I wanted to try something new, so, I became Muslim overnight." She went through periods of practicing and not practicing Islam before becoming, in her own words, "a fanatic" from mid-2015.
Bayda and Namoa were in a romantic relationship. Islamic marriage ceremony on 30 December 2015. From 26 December 2015, Bayda and two other young men planned what they initially conceived as "an extremist operation"—robbery of a brothel, gun store, or bank, or starting a bushfire. They found online "a suggestion from jihadists of stabbing or bashing drunk non-Muslims and stealing their money" and developed a plan to make such an attack on New Year's Eve. Bayda purchased a baseball bat.
SMS messages recovered from Namoa's phone showed that on 30 and 31 December 2015, she offered strong encouragement for Bayda's planned attack. On 30 December: "I wanna do an Islamic bonnie and Clyde version on the kuffs haha" (referring to non-Muslims). On 31 December, she entered a note on Bayda's phone: "Be happy i wanna know yous are smiling before yous jump outa the car. No matter what the outcome is at least you didn't pull out, do it for our ummah [Islamic community]... note to the kuffar, DIE IN YOUR RAGE!! Boom bye bye."
A photograph taken at 10:26pm on 31 December showed Bayda in his van dressed entirely in black with face covered, making the one-fingered salute used in ISIS propaganda.
On New Year's Eve, Bayda drove with two associates to Brighton-Le-Sands where they identified a couple as suitable victims. Bayda pulled over. One associate alighted with the baseball bat.
Bayda testified: "I was now looking at these two people and at that point reality hit me about what we were about to do... I just couldn't get out of the car. I stayed staring at those two people, the male and female. I just couldn't get out there and hurt those innocent people."
The attack was abandoned. They instead attempted to start a bushfire using crude Molotov cocktails before going home. A tactical knife wrapped in a shahada flag was later found in Namoa's possession.
The judgment is notable for Justice Fagan's extensive discussion of how jihadist propaganda relies on verses of the Quran and the example of the Prophet to justify violence. Fagan J observed: "The apparent message of these verses is not answered by non-specific and unelaborated suggestions... that 'there are other verses' or that 'it is an interpretive religion' or that the hostile passages are 'cherry picked'... In the absence of express public disavowal of verses which convey Allah's command for violence... such assurances are apparently contradicted."
Sentence
Justice Fagan sentenced Bayda to 4 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years, commencing 25 January 2016 (date of arrest). Eligible for parole on 24 January 2019. Sentence expired 24 January 2020.
Namoa was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months with a non-parole period of 2 years and 10 months, commencing 23 March 2016 (one month after her arrest, to account for accumulation on a separate sentence for refusing to answer Australian Crime Commission questions). Eligible for parole on 22 January 2019. Sentence expired 22 December 2019.
The relatively moderate sentences reflected several factors: both offenders were only 18 at the time of offending; the conspiracy was at the lower end of objective seriousness; the attack was abandoned and never proceeded beyond the planning stage; both had renounced their extremist views; and both had favourable prospects of rehabilitation. The judge found their immaturity played a role in their offending.
Bayda's sentence was reduced by 20% (from 5 years to 4 years) for assistance to authorities, of which 15% related to future assistance he had undertaken to provide.
Related Profiles
- Sameh Bayda - offender; radicalized at Islamic bookstore age 15
- Alo-Bridget Namoa - offender; recruited by street preachers age 14