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Australian Islamic preacher arrested in Philippines over alleged support of Isis Australian Islamic preacher arrested in Philippines over alleged Isis links
(about 5 hours later)
An Australian Islamic preacher has been arrested in the central Philippines on suspicion of links to Muslim extremists and rallying support for Isis militants in Syria, according to police. The Australian government on Saturday officially listed the Islamic State group as a terrorist organisation. An Australian Islamic preacher suspected of rallying support for Isis militants in Syria has been arrested in the Philippines, where he has been preaching radical Islam and recruiting militants since February, according to Australian police.
Robert Cerantonio, alias Musa, was allegedly calling for jihad and lecturing Muslim Filipinos to support the Islamic State (Isis), which has undertaken an insurgency in parts of Iraq and Syria. Australian authorities are understood to be seeking his extradition. Melbourne-native Robert Cerantonio, 29, who goes by the alias of Musa, was arrested on Friday morning in Lapu-Lapu city on the island of Cebu in the central Philippines, along with a Filipina woman and Filipino man, a stack of different currencies, SIM cards, mobile phones and his passport.
Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Banas said Cerantonio and a Filipino woman were arrested in their rented apartment in Cebu province's Lapu-Lapu city. Police and immigration agents raided the apartment on the basis of a deportation warrant, calling Cerantonio a "person of interest to the intelligence community". “He has been literally calling for jihad,” a senior police intelligence official told Reuters. “He has been recruiting Filipino Muslims to fight in Iraq and Syria.”
Cerantonio did not speak to media while being escorted to the custody of the immigration bureau in Manila. The woman was taken by police for questioning. Australian federal police had been reportedly tracking Cerantonio for months and are likely to deport him back to Australia for full questioning. His arrest is a major boon for the intelligence community as it is the first known link between Islamist militants in the Philippines and foreign jihadists who support conflicts in the Middle East.
A senior police official, who refused to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said Cerantonio was monitored giving lectures calling for support of the Isis movement in Basilan and Sulu, two southern Philippine provinces where Filipino Muslim extremists operate. Cerantonio is considered by terrorism experts to be one of the world’s most influential “inspirations” for militants in Syria and Iraq, according to Australian media. Police said Cerantonio had given lectures in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) in Basilan and Sulu, two southern Philippine provinces where Filipino Muslim extremists operate, and that he may have been involved in distributing an online video showing what appear to be militant Filipino prisoners inside a jail supporting Isis.
The official said authorities were also looking into the possible involvement of Cerantonio in the circulation of an online video showing prisoners inside what appears to be a Manila penitentiary airing their full support for the Isis movement. The video was apparently shot inside a prison holding hundreds of Muslim Filipino inmates, including members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group from the southern Philippines. According to Philippine media, the prison is a high-risk detention facility housing members of various extremist groups, including Abu Sayyaf, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the New People’s army.
Cerantonio is suspected of using social media to recruit supporters and encouraging Muslims to join Isis, the official said. The preacher's online messages prompted the Australian Federal Police to investigate him for inciting Australians to fight in Syria, the Philippines official said. Filipino Muslims have a history of taking part in conflict in the Middle East, with some militants fighting in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Senior Superintendent Conrad Capa of the regional police said the Australian government had co-ordinated with Philippines police to locate Cerantonio, who was under surveillance by local authorities for two weeks before his arrest Cerantonio has a huge online following and is suspected of using social media to recruit militants and urge Muslims to kill western leaders. YouTube videos show Cerantonio calling for jihad and in one video posted on his own website, he calls for “brother Muslims” to join in the war in Iraq and Syria, according to AFP senior Supt Conrad Capa.
"In one broadcast on his website, he called on brother Muslims to join the war in Iraq and Syria," Capa said. He also seemingly knew that he was being watched by authorities. In one recent tweet he attempted to put authorities off his trail, saying: “Al-Hamdulillah I have arrived in the land of Khilafah in Ash-Sham! May Allah honour all Muslims during this blessed time in His obedience,” — indicating that he was in Syria or Iraq.
According to Philippines police, Cerantonio has been living in the country since 2013. In another posting on Facebook, he baited police by writing: “Have fun finding me. I’ll be waiting for you or whichever dogs you send,” Australian media reported. Filipino analysts called Cerantonio’s arrest proof that the threat of extremism in the Philippines is “real, rather than imagined”.
Videos purportedly showing Cerantonio's impassioned calls for jihad also have appeared on YouTube. “The two videos showing a few Muslims in the Philippines expressing allegiance to Isis with the use of the Black Flag demonstrates that Isis’ threat to Philippine security is real rather than imagined,” wrote Rommel Banlaoi on the online news portal Rappler.com. Banlaoi heads the Centre for Intellegence National Security Studies (CINSS) of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.
The Australian government says that officially listing the Islamic State group as a terrorist organisation is a message to Australians intending to join or fund islamic militants in Iraq or Syria. “The so-called Black Flag movement is very active in the Philippines … [and] seems to be the unifying factor among violent extremist groups operating in the Philippines. Isis’ use of the Black Flag resonates strongly in the Philippines.”
The attorney general, George Brandis, says Australians who have fought with, or who financially support, a listed terrorist group face up to 25 years in jail.The new criminal code listing for the Islamic State replaces a listing for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in keeping with the group's recent expansion."The Islamic State and Isil are the same organisation," Brandis said in a statement."The government has moved to specifically list the Islamic State under this name reflecting an expansion of the organisation's operating area and its announcement of an Islamic caliphate."It does not represent a change in the Islamic State's leadership, membership or methods of operation."Brandis said ASIO had advised that the Islamic State movement was attracting "a large number of foreign fighters, including Westerners" and was now one of the world's most deadly and active terrorist organisations."Listing the Islamic State reinforces the government's strong message to those Australians who may wish to participate in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq ... that their activities may be subject to offences with significant penalties," Brandis said.It is an offence for Australians to direct the activities of, be a member of, recruit for, train for and receive training from a listed terrorist organisation.It is also an offence to get funds to, from or for, provide support to and associate with the listed terrorist organisation's members. Australia recently listed Isis along with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isil) as a terrorist organisation and warned that those who have fought with or financially support a listed terrorist group can be jailed for up to 25 years.
The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, told reporters in Brisbane on Saturday: "We are determined to ensure that Australians do not leave this country to take up fighting in another country, become radicalised and then return to Australia with these new skills and extremist outlooks." “Listing the Islamic State reinforces the government’s strong message to those Australians who may wish to participate in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq … that their activities may be subject to offences with significant penalties,” said Australian attorney general George Brandis.
Foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop said Cerantonio’s arrest indicated a real push by Australia to prevent terrorism from spreading.
“We are determined to ensure that Australians do not leave this country to take up fighting in another country, become radicalised and then return to Australia with these new skills and extremist outlooks,” she told reporters.