Australian court cancels country's youngest terrorist's plea to spend rest of jail-term at home

The youngest terrorist in Australia has written a letter to the court requesting to be allowed to serve the balance of his sentence at home with his family. On Thursday, the sixteen-year-old petitioned Adelaide’s District Court for mercy about the associations he had made at the age of fourteen. He has condemned the Islamic State and said that his bad judgments were caused by the time he spent online, following his guilty plea to seven terrorism-related offenses. The appeal was fiercely contested by the prosecution, who said that he was the creator of an internet extremist organisation and had once changed ISIS material to include his own logo. The child acknowledged to the court in records obtained by the Advertiser that his youthful stupidity caused him to tumble “deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole.” “I genuinely oppose the terrorist organization IS.” He remarked, “I realized I was spreading their propaganda, and that was a mistake.” “Even though I don’t believe I was ever radicalized, I now realize I was at risk, and I’m positive I won’t fall into the same pitfall evermore.” “The remarks I made regarding attacking an Anzac Day service were taken out of context. I never carried out or did anything physical an extremist person would do.” “Upon reflection, I see that I could have spent my time more wisely. I want to return home and spend time with my family,” he said. The youngster confessed to giving bomb-making instructions, disseminating IS propaganda, and taking an oath of allegiance to the organization upon his arrest. He had earlier claimed to the court that his offenses were caused by his autism spectrum disorder, but Judge Muscat had not accepted that. Since his detention, he has been discovered in possession of used firearms, a homemade IS flag, a book about the September 11 terrorist attacks, and other items. He had committed violent crimes with a knife and a sharpened toothbrush. Chris Weir, the boy’s attorney in court, stated that his client could not be handled similarly to previous terrorists. “He had poor judgment and was foolish when he was younger.” Although he may have become somewhat radicalized, what does that actually imply when he is still a young, innocent man with autism? Judge Muscat denied the appeals, explaining that the kid had ‘done enough’ to warrant his sentence. Judge Muscat declared, “A laptop is a very powerful instrument.” The youngster had acted purposefully, according to prosecutor James Slocombe, who also claimed that the boy was “lacking” empathy and that his “fantasizing about stabbing people calmed” him. “This boy still poses a moderate to high risk to the community if released,” the official stated, notwithstanding his diagnosis. The kid was remanded in custody by Judge Muscat pending his sentencing in December.