Zaky Mallah

Zaky Mallah
Born (1983-08-11) 11 August 1983 (age 41)
NationalityAustralian
Known forFirst individual charged under Australia's anti-terrorism laws

Zaky Mallah is an Australian who was the first to be charged with terror offences under Australia's anti-terrorism act after he made a video which allegedly contained a threat to carry out a suicide attack on federal government offices in Sydney in 2003. He was acquitted of two terrorism charges in 2005, but pleaded guilty to a third charge of threatening violence against Commonwealth officials.[1][2]

In 2011 Mallah travelled to Syria to film the Syrian Civil War, declaring himself in support of the Free Syrian Army. In 2015 he was controversially allowed to ask a question on the ABC program Q&A, leading then Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott to question "Which side is the ABC on?"[3]

  1. ^ "Oz jihadist charged for issuing 'how-to survive' holy war list on Facebook". Sydney, Australia: Business Insider. 18 May 2013. An Australian has been charged under anti-terrorist laws for issuing a how-to list on Facebook for how young men can engage in holy war without getting killed or ending up in Guantanamo Bay.
  2. ^ "Man acquitted of terror told he 'should no longer be a citizen'". SBS News. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. ^ James Massola (23 June 2015). "'Whose side are you on?' Tony Abbott lashes ABC's Q&A program". Sydney Morning Herald.