Jack Roche
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Jack Roche or 'Jihad Jack' as he has been labeled is an Australian convicted on a charge of conspiring to commit an offence provided for by the Crimes (Internationally Protected Persons) Act 1976, namely intent to endanger the lives of Israeli diplomats in Canberra (Australia's capital). A Muslim convert, Roche was convicted of conspiring to bomb the Israeli embassy in Canberra in 2000. The plan was never carried out. In June 2004, he was sentenced to nine years in prison effective from 18 November 2002 when he was arrested. A non-parole period of 4 1/2 years was fixed, and as such he was released 0n 17 May 2007.[1]
He had faced a maximum sentence of 25 years.
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[edit] Early life
He was born as Paul George Holland in 1953, in the English town of Hull. He then moved to Australia in 1978. In 1992, he converted to Islam, claiming that he did it in an effort to curb a drinking problem. At a Sydney mosque, he met the head of the terrorist group called Jemaah Islamiyah, an arm of al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia, and pledged his allegiance to the group. He then travelled to Indonesia to learn more about Islam, where he met his third, and current, wife.
In 2000, Roche travelled to Afghanistan, where he met with al-Qaeda leaders, such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and ultimately Osama bin Laden. After that, he received training in terrorist techniques. He was then instructed to set up a terror cell in Australia and to target Israeli interests in the country, including the plot to bomb the Israeli embassy. Roche admits to having taken part in the plot, but said he did not plan to carry it out. He admitted to carrying out surveillance on Australian targets, but was unsuccessful in bringing in new recruits for the cell. In July of 2000 Roche contacted ASIO via telephone 3 times in order to alert authorities as to dangerous elements evolving within islamic communities in Australia. He had vital informaton regarding the locations of top Al Qaeda operatives including Khalid Shaikh Muhammd and Usamah bin Ladin amongst others (in fact 6 of the FBI's top most wanted at the time). Roche maintains that had the necessary authorities taken the time to listen to his story, the events of September 11th 2001 and the Bali bombings in October 2002 could have been prevented. According to Roche, Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, whom Roche named as the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, eventually called him in August of 2000 and ordered him to cancel the plan, having initially given Roche the go ahead to 'do what Hambali had instructed him to do'. Ba'asyir, who is in custody in Indonesia, and who is thought to be linked to terrorist organizations, denies the connection with Jemaah Islamiyah.
Since he was released on 17 May 2007, he lives in South Perth.
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