Australia proposes new laws to keep extremists in prison
The Australian government introduced legislation to
Parliament on Thursday that would give authorities more power to keep
extremists behind bars after they have served prison sentences if they are
still considered dangerous, ABC News reported.
The move is a response to a 2017 siege in which a
gunman killed a Melbourne apartment building receptionist and wounded three
police officers months after being released early from prison.
The bill has been introduced as the government is
accused of trampling human rights and press freedom by ratcheting up its
national security laws.
The federal and state governments agreed in late
2015 to create nationally consistent so-called continuing detention orders to
keep convicted terrorists in custody after they have served their sentences.
Attorney General Christian Porter said the proposed
new law would close a loophole that prevented some extremists from being kept
in custody.
Porter told Parliament the laws would apply to those
inmates serving time for other offenses, but who have "clearly
demonstrated terrorist sympathies."
