[The Australian] An Australian magistrate lashed out at Âsupporters of five alleged terrorists for failing to respect her position when she entered the court, leading to a standoff in which a lawyer said the protesters were simply adhering to their faith.Islamic cleric Robert "Musa" Cerantonio, Shayden Thorne, Antonio Granata, Paul Dacre, and Kadir Kaya were Âarrested in Cairns on Sunday and charged with preparing to enter a foreign country with the Âintent to engage in a hostile Âactivity. It is alleged they planned to travel to the Middle East after sailing on a small boat to Indonesia.
A group of about ten men appeared in court yesterday to support the alleged terrorists and refused to stand when magistrate Luisa Bazzani entered the courtroom. Bazzani told the young men it was customary for people to stand and showed a lack of respect for them not to, and that this may be relevant at a later time.
She subsequently mentioned the matter to the five men's lawyer, Rob Stary, who told her the refusal to stand was in accord with the men's Muslim faith. Stary told Bazzani that former Supreme Court judge ÂBernard Bongiorno had previousÂly excused Muslim men from standing due to their religious convictions. He said, "They stand for no one other than Allah. Justice Bongiorno accommodated that."
Bazzani said she did not share Justice Bongiorno's position. She said, "I consider it absolutely disrespectful."