‘Tinny Terrorists’ planned to sail to Philippines to join Abu Sayyaf, court told

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The ‘tinny’ fishing boat the men are accused of planning to sail to the Philippines. Inset, Robert “Musa” Cerantonio the alleged ring-leader of the group.

Six Australians dubbed the “Tinny Terrorists” are accused of planning to sail to the southern Philippines where they hoped to join Abu Sayyaf.

Robert “Musa” Cerantonio, Paul Dacre, Shayden Thorne, Kadir Kaya, Murat Kaya and Antonio Granata deny plotting to join the Islamic State-affiliated terror group.

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Today (Tuesday, May 16) the six faced a committal hearing to determine whether they should stand trial charged with “making preparations for incursions into foreign countries to engage in hostile activities”.

Cerantonio, Dacre, Thorne, Granata and Kadir Kaya were arrested near Cairns on May 10, last year, towing a seven-metre fishing boat — of a type known locally as a “tinny” — on the road to Cape York.

Murat Kaya was later arrested in Victoria and is accused of helping the others buy the boat.

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The hearing was briefly halted after supporters of the accused men used mobile phones to take photographs inside the courtroom.

As the committal hearing began in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday, a veiled woman related to the group used her phone to photograph the accused men smiling in the dock.

Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg warned that such behaviour was forbidden, but just hours later another supporter of the men was caught taking pictures. His phone was confiscated.

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The court was told that some of the accused were heard “celebrating” the Bastille Day terror attack in Nice while in jail awaiting trial. It was also alleged that they had made an Islamic State-style video, complete with black flags, in a Melbourne park.

The hearing continues.

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