Willie Brigitte, suspected of planning a jihadist bomb attack in Sydney, will face a Paris court in February on charges of associating with terrorist organisations.In what promises to be a sensational three-day trial, which Australian authorities are hoping will cast light on the web of alleged terrorist rings in Australia, Mr Brigitte will face an open court in Paris. His lawyer, Jean-Claude Durimel, told The Australian that Mr Brigitte, who has been held in a Paris jail for three years since Australian authorities delivered him into French hands, will appear before a tribunal on February 7, 8 and 9.
Mr Durimel said his client would deny the charges, claiming the dossier prepared by leading French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere was hopelessly inadequate. "There is no proof," Mr Durimel said from Paris. "It's an empty dossier."
Mr Brigitte will appear before three judges, with no jury. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years' jail. The trial will be the culmination of an extraordinary joint investigation by Australian and French secret services, led by the once revolver-packing judge Mr Bruguiere, known as "Le Cowboy" and responsible for arresting Carlos the Jackal.
Mr Brigitte's wife, Melanie Brown, a former Australian soldier, is believed to be a friend of Rabiyah Hutchison, a fellow convert to radical Islam.
Ms Hutchison was once married to the head of Jemaah Islamiah's terror cell in Australia, Abdul Rahim Ayub. Her two sons by that marriage, Mohammed and Abdullah, were recently arrested in Yemen on suspicion of being part of an al-Qa'ida plot to smuggle arms to Somalia.
Ms Brown caused a media sensation when, soon after her husband was thrown into prison in France, she visited him wearing Islamic dress. Mr Durimel said Ms Brown had not seen Mr Brigitte since then.
She revealed two years ago that her marriage was over and has been busy rebuilding her life in Sydney, studying full-time at the University of Sydney and learning Indonesian.
She is still living in the Lakemba area, in Sydney's southwest, and has kept a tight network of female Muslim friends.
Mr Brigitte was expelled from Australia on visa irregularities and delivered into Mr Bruguiere's authority. Australia is believed to have moved to arrest him after a tip-off from the French.
The charges against Mr Brigitte are understood to be based on allegations he trained in Pakistan with a group linked to al-Qa'ida, Lashkar-e-Toiba, in 2001, and was preparing to go war in Afghanistan. Mr Durimel has denied his client fought in Afghanistan, but has been vague on whether he was in Pakistan, saying "he travelled a lot".
Mr Brigitte grew up in France's Caribbean colonies. He has been linked to the same alleged plot as one of his associates in Sydney, Australian-born architect Faheem Lodhi, accused of planning to blow up the Sydney electricity grid and several defence sites.
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock declined yesterday to say whether Australian officials would give evidence at the trial, attend as observers, or take action against Mr Brigitte after the French case is complete.