Youssef Uweinat was 21 at the time of his offending. Convicted of ISIS membership and intentionally advocating terrorism. Justice Bellew sentenced him to 3 years 11 months in R v Uweinat [2021] NSWSC 1256. Non-parole period 2 years 11 months. Both offences occurred between June 5, 2019 and December 4, 2019. Six months. Arrested December 4, 2019. Eligible for parole November 2022.

Uweinat was recruited at 14. About 2012. Street preachers the court described as "well-known to national security authorities." From 2012-2019 he used drugs—cocaine and cannabis. Then in February 2019 he reconnected with the preachers. Forensic psychologist Dr Seidler said he was "tiring of his hedonistic lifestyle" and "seeking a change that gave him a different way to live." According to post-attack reporting, Uweinat served as youth leader at AMDC during his offending period. Direct contact with young Muslims at the centre. Teenagers. He promoted the extremist ideology that got him convicted.

June to December 2019. Uweinat created ISIS propaganda targeting Australia. Images of the Anzac Bridge Tower in Sydney with a watermarked IS flag. Sydney Town Hall with a shahada flag superimposed on the building. The most telling: a photograph taken in Ainslie, ACT, showing Parliament House with an IS flag and the words "ready to take over or become green birds." Green birds—martyrdom. When questioned in court, Uweinat confirmed he'd made the Canberra image. He agreed "the image clearly communicates that this was a martyrdom exercise that could occur in Australia, in Canberra."

Uweinat used minors in his propaganda. August 7, 2019. Footage of a young child in school uniform wearing his black and white balaclava, displaying the finger of Tawheed—an ISIS gesture. The exchange: "Exalt Allah." "Allah is the Greatest." "The Islamic State." "It will remain." Another image: himself with a young person wearing his balaclava, IS flag superimposed on the child's forehead. Under cross-examination, Uweinat admitted he knew both were under 18. Admitted he was "prepared to effectively indoctrinate them with extreme beliefs."

September 6, 2019. Uweinat filmed himself, face wrapped in a shemagh—the head covering jihadists wear. Finger of Tawheed raised. A nasheed playing. He said: "Wallah [I swear by Allah] the Islamic State has been established and we will not stop fighting in the cause of Allah until we have the head of every tyrant until we once again raise the banner of Tawheed." He shared this with a young person. Police found it on the kid's device. November 2, 2019. Uweinat posted an image: "Alhamdulillah about to go on Istishhadi [martyrdom]. I thank Allah the most high for this chance...may he grant you victory."

Uweinat adopted the alias "Abu Musa al-Maqdisi" for his martyrdom images. May 2020. Six months after his arrest. Police searched the correctional facility where Uweinat was held. They seized three letters addressed to "Abu Musa al-Maqdisi." From Isaac El Matari, "Commander of IS in Australia." El Matari wasn't on Uweinat's approved association list. The correspondence violated prison protocols. Six months after arrest and Uweinat was still connected to the ISIS network from inside.

At his sentencing hearing, Uweinat renounced it all. Read a letter: "I now know that they follow a false, extreme and barbaric interpretation of the Islamic faith, one that I do not believe nor support." Muslim Prison Chaplain Ahmed Kilani testified Uweinat "is full of regret for his past actions and beliefs" and "fully renounces his past views and affiliation with Islamic State." Dr Seidler assessed him as having "a strong prospect of rehabilitation." But she warned this depended on him not "associating with people of concern, accessing identified proscribed content online or seeking to communicate or connect with others who espouse extremist beliefs."

ABC News confirmed after the attack that Naveed Akram had an "association with an IS youth recruiter, Youssef Uweinat." The nature of this association hasn't been detailed publicly. But the connection was real enough that it formed part of ASIO's October 2019 investigation of Akram. That investigation ran concurrently with Uweinat's own offending. And then August 2024, after his release. Uweinat was reportedly involved in an incident where an ISIS flag was waved on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a protest. He wasn't charged.

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