Accused ISIS Member Wins Bail on Health Grounds

An accused member of ISIS will be allowed to return to the community because of health and age concerns.

Mohamed Musse Bakit, 65, won his bid for bail in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Oct. 8, two weeks after he was first charged with intentionally being a member of a terrorist organisation.

Bakit’s lawyers argued there were exceptional circumstances for his release, including his age, lack of prior convictions, medical issues and his wife’s dependence on him.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge agreed those matters were unusual and granted his application.

The Carlton resident appeared on a video link from custody and did not react as the decision was handed down.

He first came to the attention of authorities in November 2020 when he was stopped by Australian Border Force while travelling to Egypt to visit his mother.

A USB stick, phone and other storage devices were examined and allegedly contained videos of an Islamic preacher promoting jihad, the court was previously told.

Bakit was allowed to leave the country but his devices were examined again when he returned to Australia in June 2021.

Federal police did not contact Bakit again until July 2024, when they raided his Carlton home in Melbourne’s inner-north and seized electronic storage devices.

A subsequent analysis of his phone allegedly uncovered 9,754 messages Bakit had sent in a WhatsApp group chat created by another ISIS supporter.

One of Bakit’s alleged messages was a pledge of allegiance to ISIS sent on Dec. 15, 2018, the court was told.

He also allegedly sent 3,189 images, 1,609 audio files, 811 videos and 487 documents of ISIS propaganda, including material showing beheadings and public executions.

The prosecution opposed bail, but Bakit’s barrister Michael McGrath argued there were exceptional reasons to release his client

He had no prior convictions and required assistance with daily tasks after suffering a stroke in 2023, McGrath previously told the court.

Bakit’s wife also relied on him as she could not speak English or work in Australia, the barrister said.

Lethbridge on Oct. 8 accepted Bakit’s age, parlous health, and his wife’s dependency amounted to exceptional circumstances.

“The court accepts he suffers significant health issues and is at a greater risk of adverse health if he remains in custody,” the magistrate said.

Lethbridge noted most of the allegations were dated and there had not been further offending.

The magistrate accepted there were triable issues in the case and a possibility Bakit could spend more time on remand than any eventual sentence.

Those factors were exceptional and meant bail should be granted with strict conditions, Lethbridge said.

The conditions included a ban on leaving the state, using encrypted messaging applications and downloading terrorist material.

Bakit is due to return to court in March.

By Tara Cosoleto in Melbourne.