[JURIST] An Australian court hearing a bail application by Australian Muslims detained in a major November anti-terror sweep [JURIST report] was told by prosecutors Friday that two of the suspects had discussed assassinating Australian Prime Minister John Howard, killing police and attacking families at soccer matches. The 18 suspects arrested in raids in Sydney and Melbourne are charged with membership in a terrorist organization and planning a terrorist attack. The Australian parliament recently passed strict new anti-terrorism legislation [JURIST report], and just prior to the announcement of the Sydney and Melbourne arrests approved an additional law anti-terror rushed through by the Howard government [JURIST report] to facilitate terror prosecutions in the face of a then-unspecified "credible threat". Reuters has more.
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