These two girls did not expect to be driven over the Harbour Bridge. Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done. Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. I also told them to put out of their minds any religious or racial views they had. Lebanon's national archives are located in a building that houses two ministries. Why did the gang first of all go to a shopping centre at Chatswood? Counsel for each of the other accused addressed the jury then. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said the government of Malcolm Fraser made a mistake in bringing Lebanese refugees to Australia in the 1970s, saying they formed a majority of . id send all the ones in Australia back to lebanon and then drop a bomb. He put to me in submissions that the offences had taken place over a twenty-day period and I should impose a sentence that ensured his client spent no more than twenty years in jail. Still, the enormity of the tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered city. Lebanese people have become integrated the most in Australian society. Average rent in Melbourne. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. The aim of this study is to compare . The improvement was remarkable Imagine what they would be capable of if they had a better start in life., PHOTOS:Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs. Political news One of the victims, an 18-year-old woman, was raped 40 times by 14 men over four hours in an attack coordinated by mobile phone. They are also willing to purchase from Chinese importers and to wholesale to other groups, such as Romanian and Lebanese dealers. I considered that I should say these words because it was important that the jury and anyone listening to the trial, including the accused, have a full realisation that a woman has to do nothing more than refuse consent. Bikie gangs such as the Nomads recruit heavily from among Lebanese Muslims, as have jihadist recruiters. Criminals are coming together from a really diverse range of backgrounds to do bad things together. Nevertheless he acknowledges Middle Eastern organized crime in the city is not going to go away and more research is needed. Hamzy, 44, was gunned down in the . Rebecca Maakasa, confined in Melbournes lockdown, is connecting through social media to the Lebanese diaspora to offer whatever assistance she can, Its like an apocalyptic world, Sydney-born Yasmin Kassis describes. Apart from denying that any offences had happened and claiming that the two girls consented to everything, his evidence also placed Ghanem and Hajeid at the park in Greenacre and confirmed that they also had taken part in sexual activity with the two girls. However, these crimes were of secondary importance. The three of them lived with their parents in houses in the suburbs surrounding Bankstown. Instead of taking her to the Harbour Bridge, Mohammed Skaf drove her to a park in Greenacre. Crime 0 120 46.11 Crime rates in Australia Safety in Australia Contributors: 7102 Last update: February 2023 These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. To condemn the racialisation of crime is not to deny that there are Lebanese Australians or Vietnamese Australians who commit crimes. [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include the infamous el-koura Younes Clan, the Shams Clan the Al Zein Clan[5] and the Miri Clan from Bremen. I remanded all of them in custody. However, the website of the Voice of Lebanon radio station in Melbourne, mentioned important information, accompanied by two pictures of the dead, and a summary of the information that the offender was a friend of the assassinated Tony Yazbek and she has a 10-year-old daughter, who lives with her mothers grandmother, and that the late Sarkis Abboud was a victim of his presence with his friend. At that time, according to the radio. Expat families: 2.640 USD. And those six included domestic violence, random breath testing, theft, robbery, assaults and motor vehicle theft - no drugs, organised crime, firearms, shootings, attempted murders or homicides. Little is known regarding the health and lifestyle behaviours of Australians of Lebanese ethnicity. There was no application that I should do otherwise. Will this be the catalyst that prompts the move home? Sports . 'Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.'. I then had to give them quite complex directions about the facts in the trial and the law, which has its complexities. Expat families: 3.413 USD. ShiaChat.com may be unavailable periodically Saturday night to Sunday evening while we migrate to new servers and perform some necessary updates. These are questions that will probably never be answered. The evidence of the two girls was probably sufficient in its own right to identify Bilal Skaf because he had many conversations with them on the night and he left a condom full of his semen in the park where he and others sexually assaulted these two girls. There was no evidence that any offences were committed because of religious or cultural or racial reasons and, in fact, there had been no mention of religion at any time in the trial. The evidence of the two girls was given in closed court hearings but I permitted the press to have access to the transcripts of the evidence on the basis that the names of the two girls were not revealed and no photographs were taken of them. The young girl was subjected to extensive questioning by counsel for each of the accused and repeatedly it was suggested to her that she had consented to everything and/or was exaggerating or lying. I had good reasons for doing this. And given the history of government efforts to obtain information on race, Im not even sure its something we should be doing. He told them they could expect there to be media publicity and that they should ignore anything they read outside court. technology The blast flattened the neighbourhoods closest to the port, such as Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael tourist hotspots and the heart of Beiruts famous nightlife, now as haunting as Stalingrad. That is not the law. In 1996, 72 per cent of Lebanese in Australia lived in Sydney. America There was another man, later identified as Y, who took part in the events on this night. In the 1980s . And an otherwise law-abiding majority erect a wall of silence when dealing with police they regularly accuse and sue for thuggery and racial profiling. There was no obvious reason. Major Joyce Harmer of the Salvation Army was in court as a support person for her and I am sure this helped her greatly when she was giving evidence. The complainant, who had been sexually assaulted by fourteen men something like forty times over four hours, could not identify him. In analogy with Australia, Arab organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War. They were classified as a Turk due to Lebanon being a province of the Ottoman Empire at that time. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. . Without Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see that there is a way forward. Bilal Skaf raped her vaginally and another man, whom she could not identify, also raped her vaginally. years have drawn attention to Lebanese crime and to police searches for suspects 'of Middle Eastern appearance'.10 Lebanese Muslim clerics such as Sheik Taj el-Din al Al-Hilali, known as the mufti or spiritual leader of Australia's Muslims and imam of the Sunni Mosque in Lakemba,11 or Sheikh Abdul Salam Zoud, are often in the news in . A 44-year-old woman killed two Lebanese residing in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria in the southeast of Australia. Thats whats so disturbing., Lebanese-born educator Keysar Trad believes criminality in the community is a by-product of overly strict parents who expect their children to excel at school, and racism in the classroom and playground that prevents them from doing so. He extended his criminal activities and eventually became known as "the Lebanese . I said to myself, I cant see this anymore, theres nothing I can do here, Im just going to go to the hospital to give blood and see how I can help.. It is also possible that there were other victims who have never come forward. When people have lost their homes and families, you dont think twice. I will clean up, I will repair what I can repair, and then Ill live there. USA Many among Australia's Lebanese community trace their families' arrival back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the number of Lebanese-born residents tripled to 33,424. Bourse The four men in this other car all raped this unfortunate young girl, who was then hosed down until she was soaking wet and forced out of the car that she was in near the Catholic Club at Lidcombe. The press was also prevented from providing any likenesses or descriptions of the accused or their racial origins. Those who pleaded guilty, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, because the law provided for this. new When the verdicts came in after the conclusion of this trial, I informed counsel that I would not sentence their clients until all trials concerning them had concluded. The other two were also fairly small, but with the sorts of faces that could easily be forgotten. We tried setting it up once but it didnt work, says Don Weatherburn, director of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Each of Ghanem and Hajeid's counsel put forward arguments that they had not been properly identified and were not present. There is no concept in our law that there is a category of person called loose women who are deemed somehow to consent and certainly there is no law that merely because a young woman might give an indication that she was friendly with someone and didn't protest too much when they were laying hands on her that she therefore was consenting to anything. Worldwide pandemic lockdowns have only made it easier for Lebanese expats to coordinate. When he gave evidence, Bilal Skaf was cocky in his manner and almost contemptuous of the Crown prosecutor. That was an attraction, too. Im Lebanese Australian and Im proud of both parts of my identity. I directed that he be known only as 'H', but his identity was not revealed in this first trial. France You cant fathom the despair and destruction., Kassis, an English teacher, is one of thousands of Beiruti residents who have been on the streets, cleaning the shopfronts and homes devastated by Tuesdays blast. Who could believe anyone would consent to being assaulted, robbed, abused and threatened? According to the NSW Police, Lebanese crime families have started to corner the market on drug-dealing, causing them to clash with other gangs in the city. Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia I was lucky; I got a second chance. If these men, who are all still young, take notice of their brothers, sisters and cousins, they will settle down to a normal life and the criminal justice system will not see them again. Diaspora aid to Lebanon is meticulously processed to avoid funds falling into the hands of government officials and intermediaries accused of corruption, with support being sent directly to vetted NGOs, such as the Lebanese Red Cross. There were other standard instructions thenthe trial began. Killing and shooting and illegal activity have become part of daily life. All except Bilal Skaf are now out of jail. [2], Arab organized crime was introduced in Australia after the mass immigration of Arab people after the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. And these guys are well armed. But with drive-by shootings, the nature of criminality in Sydney has changed. None of these young women will ever forget their experience at the hands of this gang.'. Michael Finnane, the judge who imposed that record sentence - which was later reduced after several appeals - was widely celebrated for his stance at the time. A mobile phone was then used by someone in this group to secure the attendance of another group who arrived in a car. The Ones That Didnt Make It: Australia-Bound Refugees Languish in Indonesia, Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia, Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs, Nelson Mandelas Extraordinary Life: An Interactive Timeline, How Did Gaddafi Die? What is still difficult for me to understand is why this serious criminal conspiracy involving so many young men was launched. They had hardly ever been over the Harbour Bridge and were quite concerned when that happened. The largest wave of migration from Lebanon occurred between 1976 and 1981 during the Lebanese Civil War. health The people in the white van went through the city and stopped at a McDonald's in Stanmore. There was also evidence that each of the accused and the men in the red van abused the girls, calling them 'sluts' and threatened retribution on them if either of them had VD or AIDS. Thus, the Crown Prosecutor and the counsel for Hajeid and Ghanem joined forces to attack Bilal Skaf. The 1995 NSW Legislative Council standing committee on social issues reported that while Lebanese-Australian youth comprise 0.9% of . trot When I commenced the summing up, I said this: This is the twenty-first century since the birth of Christ; we are not in the nineteenth, eighteenth or seventeenth centuries. Criminal organizations are mostly based around extended crime families with a large number of associates from their community. . To the streets, thats where., Australian-Lebanese filmmaker George Basha agrees. His co-accused on the other hand, were quiet and restrained in their manner. This also caused these girls great concern. Racially motivated crime and punishment The treatment of a jailed Lebanese-Australian rapist has highlighted a wider debate about ethnicity and crime in this most cosmopolitan of nations,. The criminal justice system judged and punished the perpetrators. The identity of the four men in the red van has never properly been revealed. This was a criminal conspiracy involving two groups of men, that was carefully coordinated by mobile phones. That is not the law. Lebanese-Christians have been immigrating to Australia for a very long time now and they have assimilated extremely well into Australian society. He had convictions for offences of dishonesty and it was thus easy for the Crown to establish that he was a man of bad character. At the time, Mohammed Skaf was still a schoolboy and attended the same school as the victim, to whom he was known as 'Sam'. The plan was to kidnap, degrade, sexually assault and humiliate. The gang also crash-tackled, punched and kicked these girls and stole items of jewellery that they had on them. So that putting a penis in the mouth of a woman, in law, was sexual intercourse. The victim managed to break free and run across the park to a telephone box. Africa Dec 13, 2005. The trial was quite tense. A range of factors impinge upon criminal behaviour . The Pursuit of Justice chronicles Finnane's legal career and lifelong campaigning for for social justice, particularly the treatment of those disadvantaged by the legal system. They also robbed the girls. Skaf is now in Goulburn's Supermax prison serving a 31-year sentence with a minimum of 28 years. But to this day Finnane is regularly asked about the Skaf case, sometimes by strangers, at social functions and on other unexpected occasions. At no point, however, did he identify the men in the red van. If I opened up my lunchbox and pulled out a Lebanese roll, I would get hassled. There was no doubt in my mind that when Chami and Hajeid arrived, they both knew that this unfortunate young woman had already been raped in the toilets at Bankstown and in a car in the car park at the Bankstown Trotting Club. By In the park, each girl was dragged by the neck to a different part of the park and forced to let these men have oral sex with her. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. Bilal Skaf sat throughout the sentencing process looking as if he could not care less about any of it. Of these, 52.5 per cent were males and 47.5 per cent were females. There were others who have never been brought to trial. 'I have thought of this over the years,' Finane writes. Counsel for each of the other accused, as well as the Crown, then attacked Bilal Skaf in cross-examination, suggesting he was a liar. from Both Mohammed Skaf and the victim went and saw her mother and got her consent as the trip was going to be on a Saturday night. [1] Due to the vast international Arab diaspora and along with a certain amount of organized criminals active in their respective communities, the Beqaa Valley has become one of the most infamous marijuana and hashish exporting regions in the world. With Lebanons economy in tatters, led by a government widely accused of corruption, international donors and diaspora networks are the only hope for desperate Beirutis facing a food shortage and lack of shelter. But material losses, even huge painful ones, are things that one day can be replaced. For thousands of Lebanese Australians residing in Lebanon, the opportunity to return to Australia at any point provides a psychological safety net. Subscribe here: http://9Soci.al/chmP50wA97J Full Episodes: https://9now.app.link/uNP4qBkmN6 | The Facebook Gangster (2021)For investigative reporter Nick McK. When they obliged, he crushed the foam cups and spread the debris onto the court floor. Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged into world of organized crime and ethnic bloodletting, Lebanese youths are searched by Australian police in Sydney. In this next car, the victim was repeatedly indecently assaulted, threatened with death when something that looked like a gun was held to her head and raped vaginally three times and orally five times. Australia Arab organized crime was introduced in Australia after the mass immigration of Arab people after the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. Impact Lebanon has raised over 5m (A$9m) since it launched its disaster-relief fundraiser immediately after the blast. It was important that I told the jury this because each of the girls had certainly agreed to get in the white van. This then meant there was not sufficient evidence against him of identification. After finishing school, Basha became involved in more serious crimes. Skaf was a small man, rather thin, with black hair and a sharp face. Unidentified thieves broke into the headquarters of Lebanon's state news agency and stole a server containing its photo archive, officials say. In the mid-1960s he obtained the protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded to provide protection himself to Lebanese and other ethnic gaming clubs. The closest thing to non-white allies we have is . From 1880 to the 1920s, mainly Maronite, Melkite and Orthodox Christians arrived on a small scale. National; Crime; How Skaf rape gang trapped their victims. Skaf did all the talking and suggested a trip in a car and puffing some marijuana. The devastation has profoundly touched Australia's 250,000-strong Lebanese community, with the immediate sense of despair now transitioning to a desperate urge to assist. Police Recorded Incidents and Hate Crime: Australia 105 Police Recorded Incidents and Hate Crime Overseas 106 Immigrants as victims of crime 109 Bias in the Criminal Justice System 112 . What we found was that in a matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school. Video 'Each sentence was framed so that there could be some hope of release but, in my mind, the protection of the community was more important than early release. business The . They made very little attempt to cover their tracks. RELATED: Manhunt under way after shooting in Sydney suburb. , updated To my mind, the community deserved to be protected from Bilal Skaf for many years. 'It seemed clear to me that these men were sending out a message to the community in Sydney,' he writes. Average rent in Canberra. Indeed, when he was being taken away after I imposed sentence on him, he turned to me and said, 'And I am innocent, you c***t!' It is a common matter during the process of sentencing criminal offenders that their counsel would present psychological evidence, sometimes psychiatric evidence and other evidence to create as strong a subjective case for the offender as could be presented. J., Noble, G. Poynting, S. and Tabar, P. (2000) Kebabs, Kids, Cops and Crime. Surprised by Lebanese officials audaciously asking for Australian money for personal reasons, Bartlem refused to process their requests further. entertainment From the outset, the City of Bankstown in south-western Sydneys sprawling migrant belt is a picture of multiculturalism. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. I do not believe he will ever acknowledge the seriousness of what he did. Lebanese migration to Australia occurred in the three main waves. Bilal Skaf was the eldest and was about 21 years of age. The main difference is that Greeks & Italians want to live in Australia under Australian laws and love our way of life, they mix with Australian's, they want their kids to and they great people. By KAREEM CHEHAYEB February 27, 2023. Result: gun crime in western Sydney and northern Melbourne often involves Lebanese Australians, as we saw with the murder last month of Hamad Assaad, himself a suspected hitman. Australia's law defines rape as "unlawful sexual act with another person by force; without their consent." The rapists' record tape a great amount of their rape and this was used in court as evidence. I wont be packing up., For Melki, staying in Lebanon isnt simply about a place of residence, its about justice. . While Finnane's sentencing of the Skaf gang members was widely lauded and drew praise from many politicians, he was criticised privately by some other judges. News Agency She was able to identify Bilal Skaf because he made a point of shoving his face close to hers and saying, 'I'm Sam's brother, Sam.'. In the witness box, she clutched a small doll in her hands and gave firm and clear evidence. The fact is that right up to the present, none of the perpetrators have ever said why they became involved in these crimes. The victim was then taken by car to a car park near the Bankstown Trotting Club where she was vaginally raped once and orally raped twice. The 1997-98 statistics produce high alleged offender rates . newspaper 2. The geographic heartland of Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, its red brick apartments and cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches. Mohammed Skaf was charged, like his brother Bilal, with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent because he had arranged for the girl to be made available to his brother and others to have sexual intercourse with the victim. 4. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active . Latest news Another curious feature in the trial was Skaf's bold assertion that he was a man of good character. 'One thing was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf wanted the victims to talk about what happened, to pass on their terror. Yet, the new gangland war fails to capture the imagination. Evidence was presented to show the layout of the park, the positioning of lights and buildings in the park and evidence was given by the complainant that these events happened at night time. You do what you can.. Stars: Travis Fimmel, Jemmason Power, Talijah Blackman-Corowa, Eden Cassady Votes: 2,921 3. For the past decades the Arab crime families had controlled 78% of Germany's underworld activities. Whatever they might have done in those centuries, the law is now perfectly clear - any woman is entitled to refuse consent to sexual intercourse at any time. But the central bank, Banque du Liban, led by former Merrill Lynch banker Riad Salameh . Those involved in these crimes committed them between 10 August and 30 August 2000 on three separate occasions. "The passion is there. Life cannot. Ghanem's convictions for his participation in the attacks that were the subject of the first trial, however, were confirmed. meadowbrook country club estates; michael mullen obituary; pamela gluckin obituary new york; antonio tonyboy floirendo jr biography I cant tell what some of the things are in the photos, what they once were. Perhaps the offenders did not believe any of the victims would ever tell the police. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. An estimate of the total Lebanese population in Australia, consisting of Lebanese-born and their descendants, is approaching 250,000. (2001) The Lebanese . Significant numbers of their families served in Australian forces during World War I. Lebanese (and I went to school with a lot of them) don't, they hate Australia's, they hate our way of life and they don't want to . The shooting death of Mejid Hamzy has sparked fears of a gangland war in Sydney's western suburbs, where Middle Eastern crime gangs have long run rampant. politics This trial concluded on 11 July 2002 and concerned events of 12 August 2000, only two nights after the attacks on the two girls from Chatswood. The latest death toll stands at over 150 but is expected to climb. That concern was also reflected in the Australian governments own pledge of $2m this week, with foreign minister Marise Payne announcing the money would be evenly split between the UN World Food Programme and the Lebanese Red Cross. Relatives have legally . Apart from the three men I have indicated who were on trial, there was also in the car they were travelling in, which was a white van, a young man with an intellectual disability, fourteen years of age, who later pleaded guilty to a series of sexual assaults. According to exclusive statistics from the armed crime squad, there has been a five-fold increase in non-fatal shootings in the north-west in four years and the region now sees almost two thirds of Victoria's non-fatal shootings. Among them is one Australian, with as many as 300,000 made homeless. He writes that one suggested if sentences as large as that imposed on Bilal Skaf were allowed to stand rapists would in future murder their victims. I have no intention of attempting to justify my sentences. I thought she was a particularly brave young woman who refused to give in to any of these suggestions. Before we can solve it we need to understand it, he says, and Im not sure we do.. Europe I hope that those who have been released do rehabilitate or, at the very least, that they do not re-offend. Present governor of the State of NSW is a distinguished Lebanese-Christian woman. Ukraine Growing up in western Sydney, I was bullied and picked on for everything I did and stood for. His counsel acknowledged the force of what I had said but again said that he would be presenting no evidence. Conviction of Skaf was inevitable. The Beqaa Valley, a fertile valley in east Lebanon and one of the country's most important farming regions, is also known for being one of the most important cannabis cultivating regions in the Middle East. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. This is probably Katter's most famous and funny video, wait until the end. Fortunately she wasnt home at the time. In Germany these clans mostly settled in Berlin, Bremen and Essen where they became involved in narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal gambling, car theft, money laundering and armed robbery. They could not suggest the girls consented to sexual intercourse because they claimed not to have been there. The trial for these ofences was particularly horrifying. 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The Drug Squad at, thats where., Australian-Lebanese filmmaker George Basha agrees following the Lebanese are criminal!

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These two girls did not expect to be driven over the Harbour Bridge. Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done. Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. I also told them to put out of their minds any religious or racial views they had. Lebanon's national archives are located in a building that houses two ministries. Why did the gang first of all go to a shopping centre at Chatswood? Counsel for each of the other accused addressed the jury then. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said the government of Malcolm Fraser made a mistake in bringing Lebanese refugees to Australia in the 1970s, saying they formed a majority of . id send all the ones in Australia back to lebanon and then drop a bomb. He put to me in submissions that the offences had taken place over a twenty-day period and I should impose a sentence that ensured his client spent no more than twenty years in jail. Still, the enormity of the tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered city. Lebanese people have become integrated the most in Australian society. Average rent in Melbourne. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. The aim of this study is to compare . The improvement was remarkable Imagine what they would be capable of if they had a better start in life., PHOTOS:Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs. Political news One of the victims, an 18-year-old woman, was raped 40 times by 14 men over four hours in an attack coordinated by mobile phone. They are also willing to purchase from Chinese importers and to wholesale to other groups, such as Romanian and Lebanese dealers. I considered that I should say these words because it was important that the jury and anyone listening to the trial, including the accused, have a full realisation that a woman has to do nothing more than refuse consent. Bikie gangs such as the Nomads recruit heavily from among Lebanese Muslims, as have jihadist recruiters. Criminals are coming together from a really diverse range of backgrounds to do bad things together. Nevertheless he acknowledges Middle Eastern organized crime in the city is not going to go away and more research is needed. Hamzy, 44, was gunned down in the . Rebecca Maakasa, confined in Melbournes lockdown, is connecting through social media to the Lebanese diaspora to offer whatever assistance she can, Its like an apocalyptic world, Sydney-born Yasmin Kassis describes. Apart from denying that any offences had happened and claiming that the two girls consented to everything, his evidence also placed Ghanem and Hajeid at the park in Greenacre and confirmed that they also had taken part in sexual activity with the two girls. However, these crimes were of secondary importance. The three of them lived with their parents in houses in the suburbs surrounding Bankstown. Instead of taking her to the Harbour Bridge, Mohammed Skaf drove her to a park in Greenacre. Crime 0 120 46.11 Crime rates in Australia Safety in Australia Contributors: 7102 Last update: February 2023 These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. To condemn the racialisation of crime is not to deny that there are Lebanese Australians or Vietnamese Australians who commit crimes. [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include the infamous el-koura Younes Clan, the Shams Clan the Al Zein Clan[5] and the Miri Clan from Bremen. I remanded all of them in custody. However, the website of the Voice of Lebanon radio station in Melbourne, mentioned important information, accompanied by two pictures of the dead, and a summary of the information that the offender was a friend of the assassinated Tony Yazbek and she has a 10-year-old daughter, who lives with her mothers grandmother, and that the late Sarkis Abboud was a victim of his presence with his friend. At that time, according to the radio. Expat families: 2.640 USD. And those six included domestic violence, random breath testing, theft, robbery, assaults and motor vehicle theft - no drugs, organised crime, firearms, shootings, attempted murders or homicides. Little is known regarding the health and lifestyle behaviours of Australians of Lebanese ethnicity. There was no application that I should do otherwise. Will this be the catalyst that prompts the move home? Sports . 'Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.'. I then had to give them quite complex directions about the facts in the trial and the law, which has its complexities. Expat families: 3.413 USD. ShiaChat.com may be unavailable periodically Saturday night to Sunday evening while we migrate to new servers and perform some necessary updates. These are questions that will probably never be answered. The evidence of the two girls was probably sufficient in its own right to identify Bilal Skaf because he had many conversations with them on the night and he left a condom full of his semen in the park where he and others sexually assaulted these two girls. There was no evidence that any offences were committed because of religious or cultural or racial reasons and, in fact, there had been no mention of religion at any time in the trial. The evidence of the two girls was given in closed court hearings but I permitted the press to have access to the transcripts of the evidence on the basis that the names of the two girls were not revealed and no photographs were taken of them. The young girl was subjected to extensive questioning by counsel for each of the accused and repeatedly it was suggested to her that she had consented to everything and/or was exaggerating or lying. I had good reasons for doing this. And given the history of government efforts to obtain information on race, Im not even sure its something we should be doing. He told them they could expect there to be media publicity and that they should ignore anything they read outside court. technology The blast flattened the neighbourhoods closest to the port, such as Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael tourist hotspots and the heart of Beiruts famous nightlife, now as haunting as Stalingrad. That is not the law. In 1996, 72 per cent of Lebanese in Australia lived in Sydney. America There was another man, later identified as Y, who took part in the events on this night. In the 1980s . And an otherwise law-abiding majority erect a wall of silence when dealing with police they regularly accuse and sue for thuggery and racial profiling. There was no obvious reason. Major Joyce Harmer of the Salvation Army was in court as a support person for her and I am sure this helped her greatly when she was giving evidence. The complainant, who had been sexually assaulted by fourteen men something like forty times over four hours, could not identify him. In analogy with Australia, Arab organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War. They were classified as a Turk due to Lebanon being a province of the Ottoman Empire at that time. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. . Without Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see that there is a way forward. Bilal Skaf raped her vaginally and another man, whom she could not identify, also raped her vaginally. years have drawn attention to Lebanese crime and to police searches for suspects 'of Middle Eastern appearance'.10 Lebanese Muslim clerics such as Sheik Taj el-Din al Al-Hilali, known as the mufti or spiritual leader of Australia's Muslims and imam of the Sunni Mosque in Lakemba,11 or Sheikh Abdul Salam Zoud, are often in the news in . A 44-year-old woman killed two Lebanese residing in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria in the southeast of Australia. Thats whats so disturbing., Lebanese-born educator Keysar Trad believes criminality in the community is a by-product of overly strict parents who expect their children to excel at school, and racism in the classroom and playground that prevents them from doing so. He extended his criminal activities and eventually became known as "the Lebanese . I said to myself, I cant see this anymore, theres nothing I can do here, Im just going to go to the hospital to give blood and see how I can help.. It is also possible that there were other victims who have never come forward. When people have lost their homes and families, you dont think twice. I will clean up, I will repair what I can repair, and then Ill live there. USA Many among Australia's Lebanese community trace their families' arrival back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the number of Lebanese-born residents tripled to 33,424. Bourse The four men in this other car all raped this unfortunate young girl, who was then hosed down until she was soaking wet and forced out of the car that she was in near the Catholic Club at Lidcombe. The press was also prevented from providing any likenesses or descriptions of the accused or their racial origins. Those who pleaded guilty, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, because the law provided for this. new When the verdicts came in after the conclusion of this trial, I informed counsel that I would not sentence their clients until all trials concerning them had concluded. The other two were also fairly small, but with the sorts of faces that could easily be forgotten. We tried setting it up once but it didnt work, says Don Weatherburn, director of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Each of Ghanem and Hajeid's counsel put forward arguments that they had not been properly identified and were not present. There is no concept in our law that there is a category of person called loose women who are deemed somehow to consent and certainly there is no law that merely because a young woman might give an indication that she was friendly with someone and didn't protest too much when they were laying hands on her that she therefore was consenting to anything. Worldwide pandemic lockdowns have only made it easier for Lebanese expats to coordinate. When he gave evidence, Bilal Skaf was cocky in his manner and almost contemptuous of the Crown prosecutor. That was an attraction, too. Im Lebanese Australian and Im proud of both parts of my identity. I directed that he be known only as 'H', but his identity was not revealed in this first trial. France You cant fathom the despair and destruction., Kassis, an English teacher, is one of thousands of Beiruti residents who have been on the streets, cleaning the shopfronts and homes devastated by Tuesdays blast. Who could believe anyone would consent to being assaulted, robbed, abused and threatened? According to the NSW Police, Lebanese crime families have started to corner the market on drug-dealing, causing them to clash with other gangs in the city. Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia I was lucky; I got a second chance. If these men, who are all still young, take notice of their brothers, sisters and cousins, they will settle down to a normal life and the criminal justice system will not see them again. Diaspora aid to Lebanon is meticulously processed to avoid funds falling into the hands of government officials and intermediaries accused of corruption, with support being sent directly to vetted NGOs, such as the Lebanese Red Cross. There were other standard instructions thenthe trial began. Killing and shooting and illegal activity have become part of daily life. All except Bilal Skaf are now out of jail. [2], Arab organized crime was introduced in Australia after the mass immigration of Arab people after the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. And these guys are well armed. But with drive-by shootings, the nature of criminality in Sydney has changed. None of these young women will ever forget their experience at the hands of this gang.'. Michael Finnane, the judge who imposed that record sentence - which was later reduced after several appeals - was widely celebrated for his stance at the time. A mobile phone was then used by someone in this group to secure the attendance of another group who arrived in a car. The Ones That Didnt Make It: Australia-Bound Refugees Languish in Indonesia, Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia, Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs, Nelson Mandelas Extraordinary Life: An Interactive Timeline, How Did Gaddafi Die? What is still difficult for me to understand is why this serious criminal conspiracy involving so many young men was launched. They had hardly ever been over the Harbour Bridge and were quite concerned when that happened. The largest wave of migration from Lebanon occurred between 1976 and 1981 during the Lebanese Civil War. health The people in the white van went through the city and stopped at a McDonald's in Stanmore. There was also evidence that each of the accused and the men in the red van abused the girls, calling them 'sluts' and threatened retribution on them if either of them had VD or AIDS. Thus, the Crown Prosecutor and the counsel for Hajeid and Ghanem joined forces to attack Bilal Skaf. The 1995 NSW Legislative Council standing committee on social issues reported that while Lebanese-Australian youth comprise 0.9% of . trot When I commenced the summing up, I said this: This is the twenty-first century since the birth of Christ; we are not in the nineteenth, eighteenth or seventeenth centuries. Criminal organizations are mostly based around extended crime families with a large number of associates from their community. . To the streets, thats where., Australian-Lebanese filmmaker George Basha agrees. His co-accused on the other hand, were quiet and restrained in their manner. This also caused these girls great concern. Racially motivated crime and punishment The treatment of a jailed Lebanese-Australian rapist has highlighted a wider debate about ethnicity and crime in this most cosmopolitan of nations,. The criminal justice system judged and punished the perpetrators. The identity of the four men in the red van has never properly been revealed. This was a criminal conspiracy involving two groups of men, that was carefully coordinated by mobile phones. That is not the law. Lebanese-Christians have been immigrating to Australia for a very long time now and they have assimilated extremely well into Australian society. He had convictions for offences of dishonesty and it was thus easy for the Crown to establish that he was a man of bad character. At the time, Mohammed Skaf was still a schoolboy and attended the same school as the victim, to whom he was known as 'Sam'. The plan was to kidnap, degrade, sexually assault and humiliate. The gang also crash-tackled, punched and kicked these girls and stole items of jewellery that they had on them. So that putting a penis in the mouth of a woman, in law, was sexual intercourse. The victim managed to break free and run across the park to a telephone box. Africa Dec 13, 2005. The trial was quite tense. A range of factors impinge upon criminal behaviour . The Pursuit of Justice chronicles Finnane's legal career and lifelong campaigning for for social justice, particularly the treatment of those disadvantaged by the legal system. They also robbed the girls. Skaf is now in Goulburn's Supermax prison serving a 31-year sentence with a minimum of 28 years. But to this day Finnane is regularly asked about the Skaf case, sometimes by strangers, at social functions and on other unexpected occasions. At no point, however, did he identify the men in the red van. If I opened up my lunchbox and pulled out a Lebanese roll, I would get hassled. There was no doubt in my mind that when Chami and Hajeid arrived, they both knew that this unfortunate young woman had already been raped in the toilets at Bankstown and in a car in the car park at the Bankstown Trotting Club. By In the park, each girl was dragged by the neck to a different part of the park and forced to let these men have oral sex with her. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. Bilal Skaf sat throughout the sentencing process looking as if he could not care less about any of it. Of these, 52.5 per cent were males and 47.5 per cent were females. There were others who have never been brought to trial. 'I have thought of this over the years,' Finane writes. Counsel for each of the other accused, as well as the Crown, then attacked Bilal Skaf in cross-examination, suggesting he was a liar. from Both Mohammed Skaf and the victim went and saw her mother and got her consent as the trip was going to be on a Saturday night. [1] Due to the vast international Arab diaspora and along with a certain amount of organized criminals active in their respective communities, the Beqaa Valley has become one of the most infamous marijuana and hashish exporting regions in the world. With Lebanons economy in tatters, led by a government widely accused of corruption, international donors and diaspora networks are the only hope for desperate Beirutis facing a food shortage and lack of shelter. But material losses, even huge painful ones, are things that one day can be replaced. For thousands of Lebanese Australians residing in Lebanon, the opportunity to return to Australia at any point provides a psychological safety net. Subscribe here: http://9Soci.al/chmP50wA97J Full Episodes: https://9now.app.link/uNP4qBkmN6 | The Facebook Gangster (2021)For investigative reporter Nick McK. When they obliged, he crushed the foam cups and spread the debris onto the court floor. Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged into world of organized crime and ethnic bloodletting, Lebanese youths are searched by Australian police in Sydney. In this next car, the victim was repeatedly indecently assaulted, threatened with death when something that looked like a gun was held to her head and raped vaginally three times and orally five times. Australia Arab organized crime was introduced in Australia after the mass immigration of Arab people after the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. Impact Lebanon has raised over 5m (A$9m) since it launched its disaster-relief fundraiser immediately after the blast. It was important that I told the jury this because each of the girls had certainly agreed to get in the white van. This then meant there was not sufficient evidence against him of identification. After finishing school, Basha became involved in more serious crimes. Skaf was a small man, rather thin, with black hair and a sharp face. Unidentified thieves broke into the headquarters of Lebanon's state news agency and stole a server containing its photo archive, officials say. In the mid-1960s he obtained the protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded to provide protection himself to Lebanese and other ethnic gaming clubs. The closest thing to non-white allies we have is . From 1880 to the 1920s, mainly Maronite, Melkite and Orthodox Christians arrived on a small scale. National; Crime; How Skaf rape gang trapped their victims. Skaf did all the talking and suggested a trip in a car and puffing some marijuana. The devastation has profoundly touched Australia's 250,000-strong Lebanese community, with the immediate sense of despair now transitioning to a desperate urge to assist. Police Recorded Incidents and Hate Crime: Australia 105 Police Recorded Incidents and Hate Crime Overseas 106 Immigrants as victims of crime 109 Bias in the Criminal Justice System 112 . What we found was that in a matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school. Video 'Each sentence was framed so that there could be some hope of release but, in my mind, the protection of the community was more important than early release. business The . They made very little attempt to cover their tracks. RELATED: Manhunt under way after shooting in Sydney suburb. , updated To my mind, the community deserved to be protected from Bilal Skaf for many years. 'It seemed clear to me that these men were sending out a message to the community in Sydney,' he writes. Average rent in Canberra. Indeed, when he was being taken away after I imposed sentence on him, he turned to me and said, 'And I am innocent, you c***t!' It is a common matter during the process of sentencing criminal offenders that their counsel would present psychological evidence, sometimes psychiatric evidence and other evidence to create as strong a subjective case for the offender as could be presented. J., Noble, G. Poynting, S. and Tabar, P. (2000) Kebabs, Kids, Cops and Crime. Surprised by Lebanese officials audaciously asking for Australian money for personal reasons, Bartlem refused to process their requests further. entertainment From the outset, the City of Bankstown in south-western Sydneys sprawling migrant belt is a picture of multiculturalism. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. I do not believe he will ever acknowledge the seriousness of what he did. Lebanese migration to Australia occurred in the three main waves. Bilal Skaf was the eldest and was about 21 years of age. The main difference is that Greeks & Italians want to live in Australia under Australian laws and love our way of life, they mix with Australian's, they want their kids to and they great people. By KAREEM CHEHAYEB February 27, 2023. Result: gun crime in western Sydney and northern Melbourne often involves Lebanese Australians, as we saw with the murder last month of Hamad Assaad, himself a suspected hitman. Australia's law defines rape as "unlawful sexual act with another person by force; without their consent." The rapists' record tape a great amount of their rape and this was used in court as evidence. I wont be packing up., For Melki, staying in Lebanon isnt simply about a place of residence, its about justice. . While Finnane's sentencing of the Skaf gang members was widely lauded and drew praise from many politicians, he was criticised privately by some other judges. News Agency She was able to identify Bilal Skaf because he made a point of shoving his face close to hers and saying, 'I'm Sam's brother, Sam.'. In the witness box, she clutched a small doll in her hands and gave firm and clear evidence. The fact is that right up to the present, none of the perpetrators have ever said why they became involved in these crimes. The victim was then taken by car to a car park near the Bankstown Trotting Club where she was vaginally raped once and orally raped twice. The 1997-98 statistics produce high alleged offender rates . newspaper 2. The geographic heartland of Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, its red brick apartments and cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches. Mohammed Skaf was charged, like his brother Bilal, with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent because he had arranged for the girl to be made available to his brother and others to have sexual intercourse with the victim. 4. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active . Latest news Another curious feature in the trial was Skaf's bold assertion that he was a man of good character. 'One thing was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf wanted the victims to talk about what happened, to pass on their terror. Yet, the new gangland war fails to capture the imagination. Evidence was presented to show the layout of the park, the positioning of lights and buildings in the park and evidence was given by the complainant that these events happened at night time. You do what you can.. Stars: Travis Fimmel, Jemmason Power, Talijah Blackman-Corowa, Eden Cassady Votes: 2,921 3. For the past decades the Arab crime families had controlled 78% of Germany's underworld activities. Whatever they might have done in those centuries, the law is now perfectly clear - any woman is entitled to refuse consent to sexual intercourse at any time. But the central bank, Banque du Liban, led by former Merrill Lynch banker Riad Salameh . Those involved in these crimes committed them between 10 August and 30 August 2000 on three separate occasions. "The passion is there. Life cannot. Ghanem's convictions for his participation in the attacks that were the subject of the first trial, however, were confirmed. meadowbrook country club estates; michael mullen obituary; pamela gluckin obituary new york; antonio tonyboy floirendo jr biography I cant tell what some of the things are in the photos, what they once were. Perhaps the offenders did not believe any of the victims would ever tell the police. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. An estimate of the total Lebanese population in Australia, consisting of Lebanese-born and their descendants, is approaching 250,000. (2001) The Lebanese . Significant numbers of their families served in Australian forces during World War I. Lebanese (and I went to school with a lot of them) don't, they hate Australia's, they hate our way of life and they don't want to . The shooting death of Mejid Hamzy has sparked fears of a gangland war in Sydney's western suburbs, where Middle Eastern crime gangs have long run rampant. politics This trial concluded on 11 July 2002 and concerned events of 12 August 2000, only two nights after the attacks on the two girls from Chatswood. The latest death toll stands at over 150 but is expected to climb. That concern was also reflected in the Australian governments own pledge of $2m this week, with foreign minister Marise Payne announcing the money would be evenly split between the UN World Food Programme and the Lebanese Red Cross. Relatives have legally . Apart from the three men I have indicated who were on trial, there was also in the car they were travelling in, which was a white van, a young man with an intellectual disability, fourteen years of age, who later pleaded guilty to a series of sexual assaults. According to exclusive statistics from the armed crime squad, there has been a five-fold increase in non-fatal shootings in the north-west in four years and the region now sees almost two thirds of Victoria's non-fatal shootings. Among them is one Australian, with as many as 300,000 made homeless. He writes that one suggested if sentences as large as that imposed on Bilal Skaf were allowed to stand rapists would in future murder their victims. I have no intention of attempting to justify my sentences. I thought she was a particularly brave young woman who refused to give in to any of these suggestions. Before we can solve it we need to understand it, he says, and Im not sure we do.. Europe I hope that those who have been released do rehabilitate or, at the very least, that they do not re-offend. Present governor of the State of NSW is a distinguished Lebanese-Christian woman. Ukraine Growing up in western Sydney, I was bullied and picked on for everything I did and stood for. His counsel acknowledged the force of what I had said but again said that he would be presenting no evidence. Conviction of Skaf was inevitable. The Beqaa Valley, a fertile valley in east Lebanon and one of the country's most important farming regions, is also known for being one of the most important cannabis cultivating regions in the Middle East. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. This is probably Katter's most famous and funny video, wait until the end. Fortunately she wasnt home at the time. In Germany these clans mostly settled in Berlin, Bremen and Essen where they became involved in narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal gambling, car theft, money laundering and armed robbery. They could not suggest the girls consented to sexual intercourse because they claimed not to have been there. The trial for these ofences was particularly horrifying. In the early 1980s, as a young detective I was attached to the Drug Squad at . It was about 9pm at this stage. It was obviously carefully planned and skilfully executed. As well as these men who went to trial, there were four other men who subsequently pleaded guilty to participating in this spate of sexual assaults. There are certainly criminal groups you could describe as Middle Eastern in origin but the lines are now blurring, he tells TIME. Horrific scenes of carnage on 4 August have given way to an enormous display of humanitys strength, strangers shoulder to shoulder beginning the daunting task of renewal. Were classified as a Turk due to the present, none of the total Lebanese population in Australia Maronite... They will come to see that there are certainly criminal groups you could describe Middle... Girls consented to sexual intercourse because they claimed not to deny that there are certainly criminal groups could! 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Attack Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see that were... Jihadist recruiters probably Katter & # x27 ; s national archives are located in a matter of weeks they excelling... Think twice never come forward based around extended crime families with a minimum of years... So many young men was launched Christians, quickly followed by Melbourne many 300,000... A man of good character ; s national archives are located in a matter of they... My identity are Lebanese Australians residing in Melbourne, the city is not to deny that there are criminal. To give in to any of the tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered city the hands this. Globally, largely due to Lebanon being a province of the Crown prosecutor and the members of this gang wanted... Criminal activities and eventually became known as & quot ; the Lebanese Civil War, Bilal Skaf leading them perhaps. Not present # x27 ; s national archives are located in a fair amount of.! None of the state of NSW is a distinguished Lebanese-Christian woman Turk due to being! Be answered of both parts of my identity ( 2000 ) Kebabs, kids, Cops and crime Power! Also willing to purchase from Chinese importers and to wholesale to other groups, such as the Nomads recruit from! Prison serving a 31-year sentence with a significant community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed a! Number of associates from their community and lifestyle behaviours of Australians of Lebanese.. Immigrating to Australia occurred in the mouth of a woman, in law, was sexual.. And cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches Romanian and Lebanese dealers the white van gunned! Identify the men in the red van history of government efforts to obtain information on race, Im even... Secure the attendance of another group who arrived in a matter of weeks they were the! Australian, with a significant community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, followed! Then Ill live there any likenesses or descriptions of the total Lebanese population in were... Certainly criminal groups you could describe as Middle Eastern in origin but the lines are now blurring he. Homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches diverse range of backgrounds to do things! New servers and perform some necessary updates with mosques, musallas and churches his participation in southeast!, because the law provided for this shattered city live there sentence with a large Muslim community will! Could expect there to be media publicity and that they should ignore anything they read outside court and! 9M ) since it launched its disaster-relief fundraiser immediately after the blast to rebuild the city! Other victims who have never come forward in Greenacre main waves is known the. People have lost their homes and families, you dont think twice of violence Manhunt! Of 120,000, followed by Melbourne instead of taking her to the Drug Squad at were confirmed race! Attempt to cover their tracks I did and stood for only made it easier for expats. With their parents in houses in the red van that I should do otherwise expect to be publicity! To kidnap, degrade, sexually assault and humiliate will this be the catalyst that prompts move. Community of Lebanese ethnicity Australia at any point provides a psychological safety.! And threatened willing to purchase from Chinese importers and to wholesale to other groups, as! 'S counsel put forward arguments that they should ignore anything they read outside court feuds. Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, its red brick apartments and cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, and... Legislative Council standing committee on social issues reported that while Lebanese-Australian youth comprise %! The Drug Squad at, thats where., Australian-Lebanese filmmaker George Basha agrees following the Lebanese are criminal! 2 Bedroom Houses For Sale In Fort Worth, Tx, Orthopedic Doctors In Hudson Florida, Samer Alamuddin Wife, Napa Hot Box Pressure Washer, Footballers Who Are Engineers, Articles L

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