Civil rights advocates concerned over Thomas control order
Melbourne man Jack Thomas has now become the first Australian subject to a control order, designed to prevent him from committing a terrorist act. Jack Thomas’ five-year jail term on terrorist charges was overturned only two weeks ago. The Victorian Court of Appeal overruled his conviction on the grounds that when Australian Federal Police interviewed Mr Thomas in Pakistan in 2003, Thomas was denied a legal representative and repeatedly threatened. Yesterday, while on a family holiday at the coast to celebrate his release from jail, Thomas was served with a control order making it illegal for him to leave Melbourne. He now has a midnight to 5am curfew and he has to report to police three times a week. A retrial might also be on the cards, based on what Thomas said in a recent Four Corners program. The Australian Government says it served Thomas with a control order in order to protect the public. But civil rights activist question their fairness.