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French militant Islamist barred from Australia: officials
French militant Islamist Willie Brigitte, jailed for plotting to bomb a nuclear power plant in Australia, will "never" be let back into the country once he is released in France, officials said on Thursday.
French militant Islamist Willie Brigitte, jailed for plotting to bomb a nuclear power plant in Australia, will "never" be let back into the country once he is released in France, officials said on Thursday.
Brigitte, 41, could be freed next year for good behaviour after serving six of his nine-year term, according to his Paris-based lawyer.
"Given national security issues and his history he wouldn't be eligible for a visa into Australia," an Australian immigration spokeswoman told AFP.
"There are standard character and security requirements which he would not meet."
Brigitte, a Muslim convert from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, was deported in 2003 to answer charges of criminal conspiracy in relation with a terrorist enterprise. He was convicted in France in 2007.
The militant, married to an Australian woman, was also accused of setting up a terror cell in Australia on the orders of a Pakistani extremist group.
His lawyer Jean-Claude Durimel said that for early release, Brigitte would need a record of good behaviour and a guarantee of work in France, where he would have to remain for a probationary period.
Durimel argued at the time that there was a lack of proof to convict Brigitte, saying he was jailed under a catch-all charge used in almost all terrorism cases in France.
