R (Cth) v Dakkak

[2022] NSWDC 181

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R (Cth) v Dakkak [2022] NSWDC 181

Hearing dates:

8 April 2022, 11 April 2022

Date of orders:

11 April 2022

Decision date:

11 April 2022

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Neilson DCJ

Decision:

Radwan Dakkak you are convicted. I sentence you to imprisonment for one year and eight months commencing on 16 January 2021 and concluding on 15 September 2022. I set a non-parole period of one year and three months expiring on 15 April 2022.

Catchwords:

CRIME – SENTENCE – INTERIM CONTROL ORDER – Accused pleaded guilty to breach of Interim Control Order - Terrorism offence.

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

Criminal CodeAct 1995 (Cth)

Cases Cited:

R v Alo-Bridget Namoa (Parramatta District Court, 29 November 2021)

Naizmand v R [2018] NSWCCA 25

R v MO (No 1) [2016] NSWDC 144

Regina (Cth) v Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand [2017] NSWDC 4

Texts Cited:

Nil.

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Regina – Crown (Cth)
Defence – Radwan Dakkak

Representation:

Crown
Rodger, R instructed by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
Defence
Quilter, T. instructed by LegalAid

File Number(s):

2021/00013405

Publication restriction:

Nil.

Judgment

Background

1. HIS HONOUR: Radwan Dakkak stands for sentence as a consequence of pleading guilty to a charge that between 2 January 2021 and 12 January 2021 at Sydney in this State and elsewhere, he did contravene a control order by accessing electronic media. That is an offence contrary to s 104.27 of the Criminal CodeAct 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is five years imprisonment.

2. To understand the nature of the charge it is necessary to go back in time. This is the second occasion on which the offender has stood for sentence in the courts of this State. On 18 December 2020 the offender was convicted and sentenced on two counts of associating with a terrorist organisation contrary to s 109.8(1) of the Criminal CodeAct 1995 (Cth).

3. The charges were firstly that on two or more occasions, between 1 January 2019 and 2 July 2019, he did intentionally associate with another person, namely Isaac El Matari, knowing that he was a member of, and a person who promoted and/or directed the activities of, an organisation, namely Islamic State, and knowing that organisation was a terrorist organisation, in circumstances where the association provided support to the organisation and intending that the support assist the organisation to expand or continue to exist.

4. The second offence to which the offender pleaded guilty was that on two or more occasions between 26 July 2017 and 2 July 2019 he did intentionally associate with another person, namely Sheikh Hassan Hussein and a person or persons Ahlut-Tawhid Publications, knowing that they were members of, and were persons who promoted and/or directed the activities of, an organisation, namely Islamic State, and knowing that organisation is a terrorist organisation, in circumstances where the association provided support to the organisation and intending that the support assist the organisation to expand or continue to exist.

5. For…