Australia has officially banned the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir under Labor’s new hate group laws, Australia's The Daily Telegraph revealed Thursday.
Under the ban, people who support, join, or associate with the group will now face up to 15 years in jail.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the ban received sign-off from Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Thursday, and the ban will be in effect from Friday.
Established in Jerusalem in 1953, Hizb ut Tahrir is dedicated to establishing a caliphate across the Muslim world. It publicly states that it does not engage in armed struggle, and there is no widely documented case of it carrying out terrorist attacks.
Hizb ut Tahrir praises armed jihad
Nevertheless, it praises armed jihad, espouses hostile rhetoric toward Jews and Israel, and calls for the overthrow of governments in Muslim-majority countries. It is banned in Germany, Russia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed last week that the Australian Security Intelligence Organization had confirmed Hizb ut-Tahrir met the threshold required for a ban.
Under the new Australian law, an organization can be listed as a terror organization if it is directly or indirectly engaged in preparing, planning, assisting in, or fostering terrorist acts, or if it advocates the doing of a terrorist act. Firstly, the ASIO must assess whether the group meets the legal threshold for listing.
Following this, the Department of Home Affairs prepares a formal legal and policy brief that assesses whether the evidence satisfies the legal threshold, what the risks of legal challenge are, and what the diplomatic implications are.
If this proceeds, the government must notify the leader of the opposition to ensure bipartisan oversight. Finally, the attorney-general must approve the regulation that formally lists the organization. Once signed, the organization is added to the terrorist organizations list.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir is an organization I’ve been fighting since my first term in Parliament, back in the days when the Liberal government was rolling out the red carpet for them at the embassy and giving them speaking tour visas in Australia,” Burke said.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to the Governor General's office for comment.