Aussie jihadist still guilty

[Kiwi]

Aussie jihadist still guilty

"'Jihad' bomb plotter's appeal dismissed by Australian court," from AFP


SYDNEY (AFP) - A Pakistan-born architect convicted of plotting a "jihad" or holy war bombing campaign in Australia had his appeal dismissed in a Sydney court Thursday.

Faheem Khalid Lodhi was sentenced to 20 years jail in August 2006 after a jury found him guilty of planning to blow up the electrical grid in Australia's biggest city.

Lodhi, who immigrated in the mid-1990s and holds Australian citizenship, was convicted of preparing for a terrorist act by seeking information about chemicals capable of making explosives.

He was also found guilty of possessing a "terrorism manual" and of buying two maps of the Sydney electricity grid in preparation for a terrorist act.

Lodhi denied the charges.

Prosecutors linked Lodhi to Frenchman Willie Brigitte, who was deported from Australia in late 2003 and subsequently convicted in France of plotting a major attack in Sydney.