Man accused of Islamic State membership granted bail
Mohamed Musse Bakit, 65, won bail in Melbourne despite charges of IS membership and possession of jihad propaganda.
Mohamed Musse Bakit faced five terror-related charges including intentional membership of Islamic State. A magistrate granted his bail application on Thursday after weighing exceptional circumstances: his age, clean record, medical issues and his wife's dependence on him.
Bakit came to police attention in 2020 when Australian Border Force stopped him at the airport. Bakit's devices contained videos of an Islamic preacher promoting jihad.
He returned to Australia in June 2021 and was left alone until July 2024, when federal police raided his Carlton home and seized electronic storage devices. Analysis later revealed 9754 WhatsApp messages, thousands of images, videos and documents of IS propaganda in a group chat.
One message was a pledge of allegiance to IS from December 2018.
- 65
- Age
- 9,754
- Messages uncovered
- December 15, 2018
- Allegiance pledge date
- 5
- Terror charges
Why it mattersBail decisions in terrorism cases are rare and closely watched; this signals the court found exceptional grounds despite serious allegations.
AustraliaThe case shows how long investigations into alleged terror connections can take and how online activity in group chats can become evidence in court.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
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