Teen due in court on terror charges

A Melbourne teenager detained for four months over an alleged Anzac Day terror plot has walked free on bail.

Harun Causevic, 18, is set to appear in the Victorian Supreme Court after he was arrested in April over allegedly planning a knife attack on police.

Causevic, of Hampton Park, pleaded guilty to three relatively minor weapons charges relating to knives and a knuckleduster found in his possession, and was released on bail.

But, as revealed by Fairfax Media on Monday, the major terror charge against Mr Causevic was dropped on Tuesday in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

The Melbourne man was held under Victoria’s first preventative detention order and remanded in custody.

In affidavits sworn in the case already, federal agents have alleged that Mr Causevic was nearby when his friend, Numan Haider, was shot by police at Endeavour Hills police station previous year after Haider tried to stab two officers.

“It could not be said that the weapons were used for any offensive goal “.

Charges against another Melbourne teen, Sevdet Besim, 18, arrested in the same anti-terror raids, will proceed to a two-day committal hearing in December.

They also alleged that Mr Causevic watched police in April and waved a black flag with white Arabic writing on it toward officers.

In a joint statement, Victoria Police and Australian Federal Police said the present counter-terrorism environment dictates that they will always act in the interest of ensuring community safety.

Defence counsel Rob Stary said Mr Causevic had spent more than 120 days in custody on a lack of evidence, during which he was he kept in a unit for serious offenders and kept in isolation for 23 hours a day.

Outside the court, Mr Stary said the charges were based on flimsy evidence and the incarceration of an 18-year-old over such a long period raises questions about how authorities deal with such matters.

After the hearing, Mr Causevic’s emotional parents embraced in court.

“Message from Prime Minister here [is] … whatever young Muslim who [is] going five times per day in mosque will be charged like terrorists”, Mr Causevic said.

“(They would) rather the risk of a prosecution failing than the risk of members of the community being hurt or killed through no overt action”, the statement read.