Roche Pleads Guilty in Australia Bomb Plot

Australia's first trial in the war on terror ended abruptly Friday when British-born Jack Roche changed his plea from innocent to guilty, acknowledging his role in an al-Qaida plot to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Canberra.

The trial of the Muslim convert, who first came in contact with Islamic militants in Australia and who later lunched with Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) in Afghanistan (news - web sites), threw new light on how terrorist cells are operating in Asian region.

After making contact with the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah in the western Australian city of Perth, Roche met with the group's senior operatives before traveling to Pakistan and eventually to an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan where he met bin Laden.


At his trial this week, Roche told Perth District Court that when al-Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan told him to investigate the possibilities of bombing Israeli targets in Australia back in April 2000, he went along with the plan, partly because he feared they would kill him otherwise.


Roche changed his plea 10 days into his trial, avoiding further cross-examination that was to continue Friday. The 50-year-old faces a maximum 25-year prison term when the court rules on his sentence next Tuesday.

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Roche was arrested in a wave of raids by intelligence agents after the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings. He is the first person to be tried and convicted under Australia's new anti-terror laws, introduced after the Sept. 11 attacks.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20040528/ap_on_re_au_an/australia_terror_trial

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wonder who is accomplices are ?