Faheem Khalid Lodhi (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

) is a convicted Pakistani–

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

criminal and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, currently serving an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n custodial sentence of twenty years, with a non-

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

period of fifteen years for conspiring to commit a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

act or acts. Lodhi was the first convicted Australian terrorist under amendments made to the Commonwealth's ''Criminal Code Act 1995'', in May 2003.

Early life and education

Faheem Khalid Lodhi was born in Pakistan and grew up in

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the

National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview National College of Arts - A Federal Chartered Institute is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second oldest i ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Pakistan. In 1998, Lodhi immigrated to Australia and later obtained Australian citizenship. He attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, from which he earned a Bachelor of Architecture.

Arrest, trial, and aftermath

On 26 October 2003, following an investigation by the

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vio ...

, police and ASIO raided Lodhi's Lakemba home and workplace and discovered evidence of a terrorist plot. He was accused of plotting to bomb the national electricity grid and/or

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

defence sites in the cause of violent ''

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

''. His possible targets were the national electricity supply system and three Sydney defence installations; the army base Victoria Barracks, the naval base HMAS Penguin, and the army training area

Holsworthy Barracks Holsworthy Barracks is an Australian Army military barracks, located in the Heathcote National Park in Holsworthy approximately from the central business district, in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The barracks is part of th ...

. During his trial, the court was told he and

Willie Brigitte Willie Virgile Brigitte (also known as Mohammed Abderrahman, born 10 October 1968 in Guadeloupe, France) is a convicted criminal, who was deported from Australia in 2003 for breaching the terms of his tourist visa and, upon arrival in France, wa ...

, who was deported in October 2003 for breaching his tourist visa, trained in Pakistan with

Lashkar-e-Toiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

and had contact using mobile phones registered under false names. The court was also told he helped arrange accommodation for Brigitte when he arrived in Sydney, in May 2003. At the ruling, Justice Anthony Wheally commented that Lodhi had "the intent of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause, namely violent ''jihad''" and to "instil terror into members of the public so that they could never again feel free from the threat of bombing in Australia". He was convicted by a

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...

jury on 19 June 2006 on three terrorism-related offences, namely: *acting in preparation for a terrorist act, an offence carrying a maximum life sentence; *seeking information about chemicals capable of making explosives; and, *possessing a "terrorism manual" and buying two maps of the electricity grid, connected with preparation for a terrorist act. The jury found that Lodhi was not guilty of one charge of downloading aerial photographs of Sydney defence sites in preparation of a terror act. In August 2006, he was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, with a 15-year non-parole period. He is classified as a high-security "AA" prisoner and will be eligible for parole in 2019.

Personal life

Lodhi is a devout

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

and is married to Aysha Hamedd.

References

External links

Lodhi 'deserves' 20 years

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodhi, Faheem 1969 births New South Wales architects Australian Islamists Australian prisoners and detainees Australian Sunni Muslims Islamic terrorism in Australia Living people Pakistani emigrants to Australia Pakistani people imprisoned on charges of terrorism People convicted on terrorism charges Prisoners and detainees of the Commonwealth of Australia Lashkar-e-Taiba members National College of Arts alumni University of Sydney alumni Pakistani Islamists

Early life and education

Arrest, trial, and aftermath

Personal life

See also

References

External links