Islamic radical barred from WA jails
Radical Islamic preacher Junaid Thorne has been banned from visiting WA jails after The West Australian revealed he had provided religious lessons to inmates inside Hakea Prison.
Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis ordered the ban yesterday, saying there was no place in the corrections system for people who preached "hatred, prejudice or intolerance".
"I have instructed the Commissioner for Corrective Services that Mr Thorne be banned from entering any West Australian prison as a visitor," he said.
PERTH MUSLIM PRAISES EXTREMISTS | PROBE INTO RADICAL'S PRISON LECTURE CLAIM
Thorne is not recognised by WA's Muslim community as a religious leader and has given himself the title of sheik, or scholar. He preaches under the banner of a group called Millatu Islam which shares the same flag as jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria rebels fighting in Iraq.
The Department of Corrective Services has a screening process for official visitors but it is understood it failed to detect Thorne's lack of qualifications or his militant views.
Mr Francis would not reveal last night how many inmates Thorne had met, or if that visit had been supervised.
WA Police are also understood to have launched their own inquiry into whether Thorne's description of Jews and Christians as "filthy rapists" in an online video had breached the State's racial vilification laws.
In the video, Thorne said: "Look at other parts of the world . . . our sisters are being raped by these filthy Jews and Christians . . . their bodies filling the streets.
"Where is someone who will stand up and defend our sisters?"
WA's Chief Rabbi David Frielich said he believed the comments were in breach of the Act and he urged police to prosecute.
"No matter what your religion, race or nationality . . . we should be incensed when people speak against other human beings in this way," he said.
Thorne refused to answer questions about his hardline views when approached by _The West Australian _ outside his Thornlie home yesterday.
On his Facebook page, he has previously expressed support for ISIS which has been responsible for beheadings and other atrocities against fellow Muslims. The group is listed by the Federal Government as a banned terrorist organisation.
