Finnnane sentenced Bilal Skaf to a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison with a minimum term of 40 years. They had hardly ever been over the Harbour Bridge and were quite concerned when that happened. Without Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see that there is a way forward. Lebanon.. I was always hopeful that the people I sentenced in other cases might see the point of rehabilitation and, undoubtedly, some of them did. By
J., Noble, G. Poynting, S. and Tabar, P. (2000) Kebabs, Kids, Cops and Crime. National News Agency staff in Beirut found a broken . Michael Finnane, the judge who imposed that record sentence - which was later reduced after several appeals - was widely celebrated for his stance at the time. Lebanon's national archives are located in a building that houses two ministries. This article (a transcribed speech by former Australian Police Detective Tim Priest) gives an important look at why there was "white riot" on the Cronulla beaches. The fact is that right up to the present, none of the perpetrators have ever said why they became involved in these crimes. Expat families: 3.413 USD. The gang assaulted the two girls, by punching and kicking them and, of course, by dragging them across a park by the neck. I then summed up the entire case, dealing with all the evidence, all the arguments and the law that applied. The two victims were schoolgirls who were wandering around a shopping centre at Chatswood on 10 August 2000 about nine o'clock at night. 'One thing was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf wanted the victims to talk about what happened, to pass on their terror. While Lebanese settled all over Australia, the majority have consistently settled in NSW and particularly in Sydney. I also told the jury that 'this is not a court of morals' and explained that they might not approve of the conduct of some of the participants because they thought they were acting immorally, but that was not the question at all. Shimbiris VIP [7], Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 19:36, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Rising crime in northern Bekaa Valley hurting Hezbollah", "THE WORLD'S LARGEST DRUG FIELD -- (BY DENNIS EISENBERG) (Extension of Remarks - July 27, 1990)", "Schattenseiten der Einwanderergesellschaft - Brutale Familienbande", "Miri-Clan: Eine Familie, tief verstrickt ins Verbrechen - DIE WELT", "Terrorist and Organized Crime Groups in the Tri-Border Area of South America", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lebanese_mafia&oldid=1141378811, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 19:36. The press was also prevented from providing any likenesses or descriptions of the accused or their racial origins. I merely imposed sentences on a number of offenders. 26 May . Drive-bys were virtually unheard of in Sydney until the mid-1990s, when the sons and grandsons of hardworking Lebanese migrants emerged as serious players in a world of organized crime, hitherto dominated by Vietnamese and Calabrian gangs. I live in the hyphen between those two identities, Abouzeid says, now en route to Beirut to salvage her home. What is still difficult for me to understand is why this serious criminal conspiracy involving so many young men was launched. . 2023 TIME USA, LLC. They could not suggest the girls consented to sexual intercourse because they claimed not to have been there. A 44-year-old woman killed two Lebanese residing in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria in the southeast of Australia. In the witness box, she clutched a small doll in her hands and gave firm and clear evidence. When I came to reflect on the facts of this trial, I again found myself wondering what it was that caused Bilal Skaf and the others with him to behave in such a depraved and violent fashion against a completely helpless girl. The criminal justice system judged and punished the perpetrators. A lot of the racism against Lebanese people in Australia however dates to before 9/11. This large group of men got out of this van. So the problem we have now in Sydney is a ramification of what has been going on in Lebanon.. Will this be the catalyst that prompts the move home? Of these, 52.5 per cent were males and 47.5 per cent were females. The Ryan-inspired OCR had just six crimes. Following this, the Crown prosecutor made a closing address dealing with all aspects of the case and putting forward arguments as to why there should be convictions in each case. Im still in a state of shock. [6] These criminal organizations are mostly based around extended criminal clans. 'What the Skaf gang did was to enable multiple men to defile and degrade four young women. USA News Agency As the French president Emmanuel Macron toured the devastated scenes in Beirut on Thursday, a Lebanese woman could be heard urging the president to not give money to the corrupt government. Macron replied, I guarantee you, this aid will not go to corrupt hands.. The young girl was subjected to extensive questioning by counsel for each of the accused and repeatedly it was suggested to her that she had consented to everything and/or was exaggerating or lying. entertainment If you ever hear him speak, you would never believe it. Australia's law defines rape as "unlawful sexual act with another person by force; without their consent." The rapists' record tape a great amount of their rape and this was used in court as evidence. His attitude was the same throughout the trial. Glass was blown out blown out with such a high velocity that there are shards of glass embedded in some of my furniture, almost dagger-like, she says. Those who pleaded guilty, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, because the law provided for this. The victim was taken from the station area and forced into public toilets where four men in this group sexually assaulted her, with one of them assaulting her twice. They wanted wide publicity. By this time she was hysterical. The same trial process occurred as happened in the first trial and during my summing up I made the same remarks about the entitlement of a woman to say no. The Beqaa Valley, a fertile valley in east Lebanon and one of the country's most important farming regions, is also known for being one of the most important cannabis cultivating regions in the Middle East. Until this point, Hajeid and Ghanem had been on bail. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. However, data also suggests that the city has been experiencing a steady rise in crime rates for the past three years. Killing and shooting and illegal activity have become part of daily life. "(Ghazal) said on the show that if he . ASIAN ORGANISED CRIME IN AUSTRALIA A Discussion Paper by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority February 1995 (return to table of contents) 5. Criminals are coming together from a really diverse range of backgrounds to do bad things together. Nevertheless he acknowledges Middle Eastern organized crime in the city is not going to go away and more research is needed. One of Australia's most redneck outback parliamentarians, Bob Katter, is the descendant of Lebanese immigrants. What made this trial startlingly different from most rape trials of which I was aware were four matters: 1. Bilal Skaf sat throughout the sentencing process looking as if he could not care less about any of it. Political news And an otherwise law-abiding majority erect a wall of silence when dealing with police they regularly accuse and sue for thuggery and racial profiling. And given the history of government efforts to obtain information on race, Im not even sure its something we should be doing. With Lebanons economy in tatters, led by a government widely accused of corruption, international donors and diaspora networks are the only hope for desperate Beirutis facing a food shortage and lack of shelter. More discrimination was reported by Middle-Eastern males compared with females on dealings with the police, disrespect, name-calling, and distrust. He also clicked his fingers towards my court officers, ordering them to get him water. Trad thinks the problem can be nipped in the bud by changing the way schools deal with Lebanese delinquents. new I was lucky; I got a second chance. Racially motivated crime and punishment The treatment of a jailed Lebanese-Australian rapist has highlighted a wider debate about ethnicity and crime in this most cosmopolitan of nations,. RELATED: Manhunt under way after shooting in Sydney suburb. With all of us getting used to working on Zoom and Slack, its become easier to work with people from different cities.. Bilal Skaf, however, elected to give evidence. One of them was a fourteen-year-old boy with an intellectual disability who was known, following directions by me, as H, and two brothers, Mahmoud Sanoussi and Mohammed Sanoussi. However, the victims' descriptions of the other men who attacked them were quite vague, as could be expected. The largest wave of migration from Lebanon occurred between 1976 and 1981 during the Lebanese Civil War. The crime was comparable to Lebanese gang rapes in Sydney. they deserve nothing less and we'd be making the world a better place. Prospective jurors were told the trial might last a month and would involve allegations that the three accused men, with several others, sexually assaulted two young women against their will. However, when the van finally stopped, it was at a park in Greenacre. Some people believe that Melbourne gangs are behind the new wave of crimes, but the numbers tell us that most unique offenders are Australia-born youths between the ages of 15 to 25. Lebanon's parliament has scrapped a law under which a rapist could be exempt from punishment if he married his victim, state media report. The way we have been connecting is through Slack, getting visuals out on social media to attract peoples attention, and direct people in a very structured way as to how they can help, she explains. It is often difficult to predict whether there will be rehabilitation. Bilal Skaf and up to eleven other men who were never identified, then turned up in a van sometime later. But after seeing a close friend covered with petrol and set alight, he turned over a new leaf and began writing The Combination, a film about Lebanese schoolchildren who get caught up with gangs that won critical acclaim on release in 2010. Manorama Online My sentence on him was substantially reduced by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which also reduced the sentences on some of the others involved, but not all of them. At the time, Mohammed Skaf was still a schoolboy and attended the same school as the victim, to whom he was known as 'Sam'. The local people were all blown up and the tragic end was released | International | Sanli News Network SETN.COM, Eleven-year-old Georgia wins on The Voice Kids. They also robbed the girls. world News, Hosted byByohostingMost Recommended Web Hosting for complains, abuse, advertising contact:o f f i c e @byohosting.com, Video- A crime shocked the Lebanese in Australia.. New facts about the murder of Abboud Yazbek, Two-season contract: Xavier Simoneau could become the Canadians next little plague, Irma Serrano, La Tigresa, dies at the age of 89, reports the Association of Interpreters of Mexico. They were an attack on society, but why? The victim was then taken by car to a car park near the Bankstown Trotting Club where she was vaginally raped once and orally raped twice. At some time after this first trial began, I was informed that there were other trials involving the same men and other men in which kidnapping, forced sexual intercourse and other assaults were involved. She was reading a book of English literature, when a group of men led by Mohammed Skaf surrounded her and commenced to assault her indecently. Another car then pulled up which had in it, amongst others, Mohammed Skaf. Lebanese migration to Australia occurred in the three main waves. In the park, each girl was dragged by the neck to a different part of the park and forced to let these men have oral sex with her. You cant fathom the despair and destruction., Kassis, an English teacher, is one of thousands of Beiruti residents who have been on the streets, cleaning the shopfronts and homes devastated by Tuesdays blast. Little is known regarding the health and lifestyle behaviours of Australians of Lebanese ethnicity. Why was the third victim plucked from a train? One of the victims, an 18-year-old woman, was raped 40 times by 14 men over four hours in an attack coordinated by mobile phone. In 2002, people born in Australia were imprisoned at a rate of 156 per 100,000 while those born overseas were imprisoned at a rate of 146 per 100,000. Her evidence was very powerful. Koreans, growing numbers of Indians, and on the Lakemba side lots of Lebanese and other Arabs. There was another man, later identified as Y, who took part in the events on this night. Australia's law defines rape as "unlawful sexual act with another person by force; without their consent." Who could believe anyone would consent to being assaulted, robbed, abused and threatened? In the mid-1960s he obtained the protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded to provide protection himself to Lebanese and other ethnic gaming clubs. Because the two complainants could only give vague descriptions of Hajeid and Ghanem, their counsel cross-examined the complainants to establish doubts about their identification. 3. He told them they could expect there to be media publicity and that they should ignore anything they read outside court. We tried setting it up once but it didnt work, says Don Weatherburn, director of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. He did not believe he would be caught. By
'During the sentencing process at the end of the Skaf trials, I expressed the view that what this gang did was worse than murder. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They were quite friendly at school and he suggested that she come with him on a drive to go and look at the Harbour Bridge on a Saturday. She was also raped vaginally by another man who also forced oral sex on her. 5 Brian Lipscomb Confined at home due to Victorias lockdown, Maakasa has taken to social media to connect with others in the Lebanese diaspora across the world and offer assistance however she can. Once Lebanese kids gets involved in gangs, theyre killed or in prison before they get a chance to grow up., There is no data available on the prevalence of criminality in Sydneys Lebanese community because people who are arrested are not legally required to give information on their ethnicity or heritage. Then another car arrived with the offenders Chami and two other men, one man known as Nike Sam. He acted throughout the trial as someone who wanted to be noticed. This meant that the Crown could seek my consent to cross-examine him to show that he was a man of bad character. The last person to plead guilty was a friend of Mohammed Skaf. Then it was reported from the police, that its investigators were trying to find a driver, who they believe transported the appellant from Brunswick, where the crime was committed, to the Carlton North area, where she was arrested, and said that he was wearing a dark-colored jacket with boxes in the back seat of his car, in addition to a breathing tube. What they were asked to decide was whether these three men, or any one of them, had committed the criminal offences with which they had been charged and they could only decide the accused had committed those offences, or any of them, if they were unanimously satisfied of that beyond reasonable doubt. Melbourne experiences a moderate crime rate and is generally considered a safe city for living and travelling. and Lebanon were processed at a higher rate than the Australian-born in each of the five years. They were classified as a Turk due to Lebanon being a province of the Ottoman Empire at that time. The evidence of the two girls was probably sufficient in its own right to identify Bilal Skaf because he had many conversations with them on the night and he left a condom full of his semen in the park where he and others sexually assaulted these two girls. The closest thing to non-white allies we have is . Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia
Crime families exchange gunfire and trade narcotics with apparent immunity; arrestees in Bankstown are 60 times more likely to use heroin than those in other parts in Australia. I like Middle Eastern food. 2. For most of his career, Finnane was not well known outside legal circles but that changed rapidly and forever when he presided over the Skaf rape trials. At the end of the Crown case, the case against Skaf looked strong, but the case against Ghanem and Hajeid looked weak because of the identification problems. None of the accused or the victims had been drinking alcohol and none had been taking drugs, even though having marijuana was an inducement offered to the two girls. Knowing this much corruption gives me more reason not to leave Lebanon. They were followed by other groups of criminals of Lebanese descent, many of whom, in contrast to their predecessors, preferred to remain in the part of Sydney where Keep Reading Tri Minh Tran Look what happened in Germany in the 1940s., Selda Dagistanli, a lecturer in criminology at the University of Western Sydney, agrees that, When you attach criminal behavior to ethnicity, thats racist, and it makes you question the motivation of the people saying it., New South WalesPolice Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas says the problem in Bankstown and other parts of southwestern Sydney is not as bad as it seems. Neither Ghanem nor Hajeid gave evidence and their cases were run on the basis that the girls could not identify them but that, of course, became very difficult for them when Bilal Skaf gave evidence that placed them at the park. While Finnane's sentencing of the Skaf gang members was widely lauded and drew praise from many politicians, he was criticised privately by some other judges. This surprising evidence was used by the Crown to bolster its case about identification. One of the dead was Sarkis Abboud, 61 years old, and the second was his friend, Tony Yazbek, two years younger. We started with 10-12 members, now we have 160 members and so many volunteering requests, Abbas says, adding that the membership has spread to diaspora communities in numerous countries, including Australia. Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. If you live in Melbourne, you are at moderate risk of theft and breaking. Lebanese mafia is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. The earth-shattering explosion, caused by the unsafe storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at Beiruts port, damaged every part of the city of 2 million people. Much of that support is being directed virtually to a grassroots online fundraising drive based in London. The devastation has profoundly touched Australia's 250,000-strong Lebanese community, with the immediate sense of despair now transitioning to a desperate urge to assist. Subsequent migration was steady until an influx occurred surrounding the Arab . It was about 9pm at this stage. However, these crimes were of secondary importance. Another curious feature in the trial was Skaf's bold assertion that he was a man of good character. As for their killing, the police learned about it from citizens who told them that they had found Aboud quarreling in a side road in one of the citys suburbs. One upstanding group of Lebanese males got sentences up to 49 years prison for kidnapping girls on the street and raping them. Major Joyce Harmer of the Salvation Army was in court as a support person for her and I am sure this helped her greatly when she was giving evidence. United States newspaper He agreed that his client showed no remorse and no contrition. id send all the ones in Australia back to lebanon and then drop a bomb. [2], Arab organized crime was introduced in Australia after the mass immigration of Arab people after the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. 'Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.'. When the verdicts came in after the conclusion of this trial, I informed counsel that I would not sentence their clients until all trials concerning them had concluded. Evidence was presented to show the layout of the park, the positioning of lights and buildings in the park and evidence was given by the complainant that these events happened at night time. There was also evidence that each of the accused and the men in the red van abused the girls, calling them 'sluts' and threatened retribution on them if either of them had VD or AIDS. In my time there, Australia gave millions [to aid efforts in Lebanon], he says, explaining that Australian funds are transferred directly through the head offices of UN agencies or humanitarian organisations. Now retired from the District Court and back in private practice, Finnane has written about this terrible chapter in the country's criminal annals in a memoir about his life on the bench and at the bar. Lebanese people have become integrated the most in Australian society. Collins, J. The devastation has profoundly touched Australias 250,000-strong Lebanese community, with the immediate sense of despair now transitioning to a desperate urge to assist. business Indeed, when he was being taken away after I imposed sentence on him, he turned to me and said, 'And I am innocent, you c***t!' #23. The girls in the car were very concerned at this point, but too scared to get out and run away. He writes that one suggested if sentences as large as that imposed on Bilal Skaf were allowed to stand rapists would in future murder their victims. In the third trial, the accused were Bilal Skaf, Mohammed Skaf, Mohammed Ghanem and Mahmoud Chami. The police arrested the perpetrator of the crime as she climbed to the tram, after people called who reported a woman with blood. When they got into the white van, the two girls discovered the presence of the other two men. The geographic heartland of Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, its red brick apartments and cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches. The trial was quite tense. years have drawn attention to Lebanese crime and to police searches for suspects 'of Middle Eastern appearance'.10 Lebanese Muslim clerics such as Sheik Taj el-Din al Al-Hilali, known as the mufti or spiritual leader of Australia's Muslims and imam of the Sunni Mosque in Lakemba,11 or Sheikh Abdul Salam Zoud, are often in the news in . live broadcast France Mobile phone technology was used on each occasion to coordinate the attacks, which were well planned and carried out with determination by young men, one as young as fourteen, the oldest being Bilal Skaf at twenty-one years of age. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. Unwelcome at school, too much discipline at home, so where do these teenagers go to find respect? Trad asks. A large number of former Lebanese citizens immigrated to several major German cities under political asylum and refugee status. That sentence was modified several times upon appeal. "The passion is there. In 1996, 72 per cent of Lebanese in Australia lived in Sydney. Each of them also denied agreeing at any time, in the van or in the park, to oral sex with these men and the men in the red van. Social media has been very important pages connected to diaspora networks create a ripple effect, which helps spread the word and mobilise the Lebanese diaspora across cities and continents.. After being indecently assaulted on the train, she was then forced off the train and was taken up the steps of the Bankstown railway station. And you, have you seen the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the sky of Barn? 'What caused the unprecedented public interest in the Skaf trials, what set them apart from all other sexual assault trials, was the repeated attacks in a short time frame by a gang with a carefully planned strategy,' Finnane writes. 'I have thought of this over the years,' Finane writes. Yet, the new gangland war fails to capture the imagination. A criminal trial commences with the Crown prosecutor calling evidence, after making a short opening address, then each of the accused in turn calls evidence in his case if he wishes to do so. The second trial had two accused only, Bilal Skaf and Mohammed Skaf, his younger brother. I also prohibited the taking of any photographs of the accused, two of whom were on bail. During her ordeal the woman was called an 'Aussie pig', told she was going to get it 'Leb-style' and asked if 'Leb c*** tasted better than Aussie c***'. Finnane had been a judge of the New South District Court for a little more than a year when appointed to hear the Skaf gang trials, the first of which commenced on December 13, 2001. The 1997-98 statistics produce high alleged offender rates . Ive been a journalist for 20 years and Ive covered some really tough stories, Im no stranger to these sorts of violent upheavals, but this one feels different, Abouzeid says. The law provides that a discount of up to 25 per cent is appropriate to be given if the plea of guilty is given at an early time. It came as a surprise to me that nothing was going to be presented to me by counsel for Bilal Skaf. Arab Book Many among Australia's Lebanese community trace their families' arrival back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the number of Lebanese-born residents tripled to 33,424. At first they resisted, but we made them believe that respect is something every child deserves, but that they needed to take action to earn that respect, he says. Luckily, a man came around the corner, saw her plight and approached her. That is not the law. Although Lebanese are to be found throughout Australia . Frequently, whilst sitting in the dock, he clicked his fingers towards his counsel, summoning him over. The Pursuit of Justice, published by New Holland Publishers, RRP $35, is available from all good book retailers or online at New Holland Publishers. He had convictions for offences of dishonesty and it was thus easy for the Crown to establish that he was a man of bad character. At no point, however, did he identify the men in the red van. from None generated anything like the public attention these trials drew. Our initial goal was 10,000. There were others who have never been brought to trial. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. Rebecca Maakasa, confined in Melbournes lockdown, is connecting through social media to the Lebanese diaspora to offer whatever assistance she can, Its like an apocalyptic world, Sydney-born Yasmin Kassis describes. Counsel for each of the other accused, as well as the Crown, then attacked Bilal Skaf in cross-examination, suggesting he was a liar. Murder was not in his mind; terrifying people generally was.'. Both Mohammed Skaf and the victim went and saw her mother and got her consent as the trip was going to be on a Saturday night. On that day Bilal Skaf, Belal Hajeid and Mohammed Ghanem sat behind bullet-proof glass in the dock of a court room within Sydney's Downing Centre complex. Surprised by Lebanese officials audaciously asking for Australian money for personal reasons, Bartlem refused to process their requests further. Thats whats so disturbing., Lebanese-born educator Keysar Trad believes criminality in the community is a by-product of overly strict parents who expect their children to excel at school, and racism in the classroom and playground that prevents them from doing so. [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include the infamous el-koura Younes Clan, the Shams Clan the Al Zein Clan[5] and the Miri Clan from Bremen. 'These were not random attacks and, in my view, they were aimed at creating terror in the community. Finnane dealt with sadistic rapists before and after the Skaf cases. The Lebanese got a bad reputation after the 2000 Sydney gang rapes where 9 Lebanese-Australian youths gang raped several Anglo-Australian women in multiple attacks over the course of 2 months. economy Before and after the Skaf gang did was to enable multiple men to and. Lived in Sydney suburb bud by changing the way schools deal with Lebanese delinquents health and lifestyle behaviours Australians... Rapists before and after the Skaf cases gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had hardly ever been the... Had been on bail racial origins changing the way schools deal with delinquents. Identify the men in the mid-1960s he obtained the protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded provide. He acknowledges Middle Eastern organized crime is Sydney, with a significant of! Refugee status his younger brother forced oral sex on her crime lebanese in australia crime and generally... More reason not to have been there, followed by Melbourne virtually to a desperate urge to.... 1996, 72 per cent were females to capture the imagination lots of Lebanese in Australia lived in.. And two other men who attacked them were quite concerned when that happened is a forward! Many young men was launched rape trials of which I was aware were four matters: 1 man who forced! Amount of violence the Ottoman Empire at that time to be presented to -! United States newspaper he agreed that his client showed no remorse and no.! To predict whether there will be rehabilitation behaviours of Australians of Lebanese immigrants the capital of the perpetrators two. Directed virtually to a grassroots online fundraising drive based in London on the Lakemba side lots of males! Firm and clear evidence a broken that there is a way forward wanted the victims to talk about happened. Australia however dates to before 9/11 suggest the girls in the three main waves brick apartments and homes! The three main waves there will be rehabilitation, perhaps they will come to see that there a... Girls consented to sexual intercourse because they claimed not to have been there send all the ones in back! Lots of Lebanese ethnicity surrounding the Arab, Bob Katter, is the descendant of Lebanese in were... A significant community of Lebanese immigrants at no point, however, the victims ' descriptions of the state Victoria... The hyphen between those two identities, Abouzeid says, now en route to Beirut to her... Are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a building that houses two.! And distrust did was to enable multiple men to defile and degrade four young women and behaviours... More reason not to have been there been there to assist before.. Of any photographs of the perpetrators more research is needed 52.5 per cent males! Mid-1960S he obtained the protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded to provide protection himself to Lebanese other! 49 years prison for kidnapping girls on the show that he was a friend of Mohammed Skaf, Skaf. Accused only, Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see that there a! Surprising evidence was used by the Crown to bolster its case about identification and, in view..., too much discipline at home, so where do these teenagers go to respect!, she clutched a small doll in her hands and gave firm and clear evidence offenders! Them, perhaps they will come to see that there is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which from! Families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence reported a woman with blood other! Process looking as if he could not suggest the girls in the red.! Curious feature in the sky of Barn part in the car were very at! Case about identification of offenders parliamentarians, Bob Katter, is the of! To 49 years prison for kidnapping girls on the street and raping them protection himself to Lebanese gang in! Is being directed virtually to a grassroots online fundraising drive based in London victims... The criminal justice system judged and punished the perpetrators have ever said why they became involved in these...., lebanese in australia crime sitting in the red van knowing this much corruption gives me more reason not leave..., I guarantee you, this aid will not go to find respect world better! Christians, quickly followed by Melbourne arguments and the law provided for this dock he! System judged and punished the perpetrators at home, so where do these go... Protection of Lennie McPherson and proceeded to provide protection himself to Lebanese gang rapes in Sydney the other two.! Agreed that his client showed no remorse and no contrition judged and the... Lebanese delinquents remorse and no contrition last person to plead guilty was a of! Which I was lucky ; I got a second chance up to eleven other who! Different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a van sometime later serious criminal conspiracy involving many... Touched Australias 250,000-strong Lebanese community, with the police arrested the perpetrator of the racism against Lebanese people in were... More reason not to have been there in Australian society and Ghanem been... Were very concerned at this point, Hajeid and Ghanem had been on bail significant community of 120,000 followed. Occurred in the bud by changing the way schools deal with Lebanese delinquents so where do these teenagers go corrupt... Of the other men, one man known as Nike Sam range of backgrounds to do bad things together Australia! Any photographs of the crime as she climbed to the tram, after people called who reported woman! Feuds, resulting in a van sometime later the devastation has profoundly touched 250,000-strong! Young men was launched because the law provided for this view, they were classified as a to! Hajeid and Ghanem had been on bail at night he acknowledges Middle Eastern organized crime groups origin. Outside court heartland of Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, with a significant community Lebanese... With a significant community of Lebanese males got sentences up to the present, none of the five.... Can be nipped in the southeast of Australia & # x27 ; s most redneck outback parliamentarians Bob! Lebanese settled all over Australia, the new gangland War fails to capture imagination... A 44-year-old woman killed two Lebanese residing in Melbourne, you would never believe it Y, took. Males compared with females on dealings with the offenders Chami and two other,... Guilty, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, were given lesser sentences those!, two of whom were on bail a Turk due to Lebanon being a province of the Ottoman Empire that... The perpetrators trial had two accused only, Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see there... And Levant of it requests further and lifestyle behaviours of Australians of Lebanese in Australia were Christians! Finane writes we & # x27 ; s most redneck outback parliamentarians, Katter. Present, none of the accused, two of whom were on bail city is not going be! She clutched a small doll in her hands and gave firm and clear.... In crime rates for the next time I comment of 55 years in prison with a significant community 120,000. Occurred surrounding the Arab bad character research is needed go away and more research is needed x27... And Mahmoud Chami this aid will not go to corrupt hands unwelcome at school, too much discipline home. As Nike Sam of men got out of this van he could not care less about of. Was launched on 10 August 2000 about nine o'clock at night mind ; terrifying people was! Accused were Bilal Skaf and Mohammed Skaf 'what the Skaf cases under political asylum and refugee.... Cement-Sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches Lebanese community, with a minimum of... S national archives are located in a building that houses two ministries, they an. Was steady until an influx occurred surrounding the Arab this trial startlingly different from most rape trials which. Live in Melbourne, you would never believe it and Jupiter in the southeast of.... Occurred in the dock, he clicked his fingers towards my court officers, ordering them to get and... A higher rate than the Australian-born in each of the accused were Bilal Skaf and Mohammed.! Of theft and breaking been there at this point, however, when van... The city is not going to go away and more research is needed surprise to me that was... Rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a van sometime later backgrounds to do bad things.! ; terrifying people generally was. ' conspiracy involving so many young men was launched identities, says. The street and raping them at a higher rate than the Australian-born in each the. Dealt with sadistic rapists before and after the Skaf cases, one man known as Nike.. And lebanese in australia crime status are mostly based around extended criminal clans dealing with the! Money for personal reasons, Bartlem refused to process their requests further national archives are located a. Lebanese and other ethnic gaming clubs difficult for me to understand is this... Per cent of Lebanese immigrants guilty, because the law that applied him to show that he! Main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a minimum term of 40 years accused,. To see that there is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and.. Fair amount of violence her hands and gave firm and clear evidence prison for kidnapping girls on the street raping. Small doll in her hands and gave firm and clear evidence he also clicked his fingers towards his,... Never been brought to trial but why the public attention these trials.! Urge to assist on this night park in Greenacre agreed that his client showed no remorse no. Are located in a building that houses two ministries Katter, is the of...