Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
National
Tim Dornin

SA woman 'still a risk' of terror offence

A control order on Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif (right) will remain in place until at least May. (AAP)

A South Australian woman jailed for taking steps to join the terror group Islamic State has not fully acknowledged her offending and remains a "vulnerable person, susceptible to adverse and destructive influences", a court has ruled.

In December, the Federal Court confirmed a control order on Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif which limits her movements and activities.

It will remain in place until at least May.

Publishing reasons for his decision on Wednesday, Justice Anthony Besanko said the ongoing order was justified in the circumstances.

"Even if the respondent is not herself likely to carry out a terrorist attack, there is a not an insubstantial risk that absent the controls, she will support or facilitate the commission of a terrorist act," he said.

"The respondent has not fully acknowledged her role in her offending.

"Furthermore, she is a vulnerable person, susceptible to adverse and destructive influences."

Justice Besanko said the continuation of the controls was "reasonably necessary, and reasonably appropriate" to protect the public from a terrorist act and to prevent support for a terrorist act.

The Federal Court action by the Australian Federal Police against Abdirahman-Khalif came after she served the majority of a three-year jail term.

In 2018, the former student was found guilty in the SA Supreme Court of taking steps to become a member of IS.

Prosecutors alleged she had communicated with other members of the group and organised a trip to join IS before she was arrested.

She was first stopped by police at Adelaide Airport while trying to board a plane to Istanbul, Turkey, in July 2016.

She told officers she was taking a last-minute holiday, despite having a small amount of clothing, no return flight and less than $200 in funds.

When sentencing her, Justice David Peek said Abdirahman-Khalif had repeatedly expressed support for IS and jihad by playing chants about martyrdom, infidels, extreme violence, killing and death.

But in argument against the control order, her counsel said she had learnt a "very salutary lesson" after spending time in jail.

Dominic Agresta said any ongoing risk she posed was low and any manifestation of that risk, such as relapsing and viewing extremist material online, was equally low.

Mr Agresta said his client had never engaged in violence or made threats of violence and her activities, including her phone and internet use, could still be monitored.

However, the AFP said the controls were still necessary to protect the public with Abdirahman-Khalif continuing to pose a "real risk".

Counsel James Emmett said the court needed to take into account the cumulative impact of a significant number of disparate pieces of evidence, including material found on her phone, which painted a compelling picture.

"The weight of the evidence, when assessed cumulatively, is powerfully against the respondent and the court has only the respondent's untested words that she does not adhere to and did not adhere to those (extremist) views," he said.

Among a range of measures, the control order prevents Abdirahman-Khalif from leaving South Australia, and limits her access and use of phones and the internet.

The 27-year-old was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and came to Australia in 2009.

She became an Australian citizen in 2015.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.