Abdul Benbrika’s son sentenced over assault

His life has been “overshadowed” by his father’s notoriety, a judge said as he sentenced the son of terror leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika for a violent ambush on a stranger.

Ibrahim Benbrika, 26, will be released from prison immediately after serving a six-month detention sentence in relation to the incident in January 2025.

Convicted terrorist leader Abdul Benbrika was released from prison in 2023.

The court heard Benbrika and his co-accused, Oways Afane, 24, who pleaded guilty to robbery and assault, claiming the 43-year-old victim was a known pedophile, were motivated by “vigilante justice”.

Benbrika was five years old when his father, Abdul Nacer Benbrika, was arrested for his role as the leader of an Islamic extremist terrorist cell that was planning attacks on Australian territory. he was prisoner In 2009, he was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for terrorism crimes.

Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard that despite strong family and community support following his father’s arrest, Benbrika was subjected to “significant” bullying at school, which later led to him being expelled from school at the age of 15.

“You had to bear the burden of your family name,” said Judge James FitzGerald.

In September 2024, the victim began posting messages to a Facebook profile named “Holly” and the pair exchanged messages to arrange a paid sexual encounter.

“Holly” and the victim arranged to meet at Green Gully Reserve at Keilor Downs in January 2025 at 11pm.

Instead, the victim was ambushed by Benbrika, Afane and the third defendant, Michel al-Chikhani (24); They were all wearing black clothing and balaclavas. They punched the victim in the face and forced him to the ground, where they kicked and beat him while demanding his money and mobile phone.

They then dragged the victim to his car, unlocked it, stole his power bank, wallet, phone and several licenses. After transferring $250 from his bank account, the trio threw away the car keys and fled the scene.

Several videos were recorded during the attack, including an 11-second video of Benbrika pinning the victim to the ground and a 29-second video showing Benbrika holding a phone to the victim’s face.

Another video shows al-Chikhani holding a hunting knife to the man’s throat and kicking Afane’s head. In the fourth clip, Afane can be heard scolding the victim while cleaning up his blood.

In handing down the sentence, the judge rejected any alleged unlawful justification, describing the attack as “calculated”, “bad” and “completely unacceptable”.

“You could argue that the victim was a known pedophile. The implication that this brings to your mind is that you probably had a right to be involved in this crime in some way,” he said.

The court ruled that Benbrika was kept in protective custody during his detention due to his father’s case.

“Your upbringing was influenced by your father’s notoriety, through no fault of your own,” FitzGerald said.

He had been working as a roof fitter since leaving school and was living with his wife and two children before his arrest.

FitzGerald acknowledged that Benbrika sought counseling regarding drug addiction and PTSD.

He also acknowledged that Benbrika was remorseful for his actions, but noted: “The remorse in question appears to focus on the impact your incarceration has had on you and your family, rather than being the victim of your despicable, cowardly and violent behavior.”

Benbrika was sentenced to 160 days in prison and 18 months in prison. Afane was sentenced to 180 days in prison and 6 months of execution.

Al-Chikhani’s sentence was postponed to a later date.

FitzGerald rejected Afane’s claim that his religious practices acted as a protective factor regarding his sentence. “Your conduct was despicable, violent, cowardly and criminally cunning,” the judge said. “This is an insult to all kinds of religion”

The pair, who both appeared in separate video links, were all smiles after learning it would be broadcast.

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