Australian jailed for embassy plot

Roche is the first man convicted under Australia's terrorism laws

A British-born Muslim convert has been sentenced to nine years in prison for plotting to blow up the Israeli embassy in Australia.

Jack Roche changed his plea to guilty on the 10th day of his trial last week, after admitting links to al-Qaeda and Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah.

He also admitted meeting Osama Bin Laden on a trip to Afghanistan.

Roche, 50, is the first person to be convicted under Australia's new anti-terrorism laws.

During his trial, Roche portrayed himself as a man who had stumbled almost by accident into the world of international terrorism.

He said he had feared for his life if he did not carry out al-Qaeda orders to carry out surveillance on the embassy, but had never agreed to bomb the building.

JACK ROCHE 50-year-old Muslim convert born in Hull, northern England as Paul Holland Admits being a former JI member Denies charges of attempted terrorism Insists Abu Bakar Ba'asyir headed militant group JI Jack Roche: The naive militant

Prosecutor Ron Davies called for a sentence approaching the 25-year maximum, to serve as "a dramatic deterrent".

"He's planned to bring these ideas, these people who are the scourge of the modern, civilized world, back into his own country," Mr Davies said.

But Perth District Court judge Paul Healy sentenced Roche to nine years, saying he should serve at least four and a half years before becoming eligible for parole.

Roche has already spent 18 months in custody, meaning he could be free in about three years.

Attorney General Philip Ruddock welcomed the jail term.

"I think it's a very serious offence, and the penalty that has been applied by the court is quite significant," Mr Ruddock said.

"We sought a longer period, but the judge took into account the co-operation that had been offered by Roche."

Roche's testimony - both to police and journalists - has shed light on Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in Australia.

He said he joined a group headed by twin brothers Abdulrahman and Abdulrahim Ayub - who are thought to have left Australia in the wake of the Bali bombings.

Roche also claimed that Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir headed JI - and that plans to bomb the embassy were called off on his orders.

The Muslim convert said that when he became disillusioned with JI, he went to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to tell them all he knew, but "nobody seemed particularly interested in what was going on".

Roche is the first person to be convicted under Australia's new anti-terrorism laws, introduced in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001.

Born in Hull, northern England, he converted to Islam more than a decade ago and has been living in Perth in Western Australia since the 1970s.