Seven young individuals in Sydney were apprehended by the Australian law enforcement for allegedly embracing a violent extremist ideology.They were arrested in raids on Wednesday. A judge also said that social media platform X couldn’t share a video of a knife attack on a bishop, which led to the investigation.
Seven teenagers, who were between the ages of 15 to 17, were in a group connected to a 16-year-old boy. The boy is accused of stabbing a bishop in a Sydney church on April 15, according to the police.
Videos of the stabbing were taken from the church service and then shared on X. Last week, a regulator in Australia told the platform to remove the videos. The platform is now trying to not do that.
Five more teenagers were still talking to the police on Wednesday night. The police team includes federal and state police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and the New South Wales Crime Commission. They are all working together to investigate terrorism.
Over 400 police officers searched 13 properties in southwest Sydney because they thought the suspects were a big danger. This was said by Deputy Commissioner David Hudson of the New South Wales Police.
“We will say that these people followed a religiously motivated, violent extremist belief,” Hudson told the news.
“It was thought that the group. ” Hudson said that the current way we investigate is not enough to keep people in New South Wales safe from the dangerous risk.
Australian police deputy commissioner Krissy Barrett said that investigators did not find any clear targets or timing for a planned “violent act. ”
She said the police action was not related to Anzac Day, a public holiday when Australians honor their war dead.
In the past, extremists have wanted to attack it.
A teenager, 16, was accused on Friday of doing a terrorist act, which is a serious crime with a maximum punishment of life in prison. This was after a knife attack that injured an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest.
On Wednesday, a judge in an Australian Federal Court made a decision to continue the ban on X from sharing videos of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed.
Judge Geoffrey Kennett decided to continue the ban that was put in place on Monday until May 10.
X, which was previously known as Twitter, said last week that it will go to court to oppose orders from Australia to remove posts about the attack.
Australia’s eSafety Commission, the first government agency focused on keeping people safe on the internet, asked the court for a temporary worldwide ban.
Marcus Hoyne, a lawyer for X, said to the judge on Wednesday that the bishop didn’t want the video to be banned. Emmanuel just signed a document saying he strongly believes the material should be made available, Hoyne said.
Hoyne said the eSafety Commission was trying to use a lot of power with “orders that basically affect the whole world. ”
Hoyne also said that a ban on the video ordered by the court might not work.
Hoyne said that this material is now showing up in many different places.
The lawyer for the commission, Christopher Tran, said that X did not follow the order given on Monday. Hoyne said he didn’t know what to do about that.
X did not answer The Associated Press’s questions on Tuesday about whether or not the company followed the order.
Elon Musk, who owns X, is saying that Australia is stopping people from speaking freely. The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, is calling Musk a “cocky billionaire. ”
Musk said on his personal account that people in Australia want the truth. “X is the only person fighting for their rights. ”
Musk also criticized Australian independent Sen. in his comments. Jacqui Lambie stopped using her X account because of a problem, and she wants other lawmakers to do the same.
“Elon Musk said she is against the people of Australia. ” This woman really hates the Australian people.
Lambie said to Sky News that Musk is a very rich and mean person.
“He doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” she said. Someone like that deserves to be in prison and the key should be thrown away.
Officials say that social media caused 2,000 people to come to the Christ the Good Shepherd Church after the attack. This led to a riot where 51 police officers were hurt and 104 police cars were damaged.
ASIO boss Mike Burgess said his organization was part of Wednesday’s operation.
“Australia’s security service works hard to give police the information they need to handle threats right away, whether it’s about safety or other issues,” Burgess explained.
He said a few years ago, 50% of the cases ASIO was investigating involved children, but now the number has gone down.
But Burgess said that more young people are being looked into for things like what they post on social media.
“They are a group of people who need protection,” Burgess said.