Lebanese-Christians have been immigrating to Australia for a very long time now and they have assimilated extremely well into Australian society. Subscribe here: http://9Soci.al/chmP50wA97J Full Episodes: https://9now.app.link/uNP4qBkmN6 | The Facebook Gangster (2021)For investigative reporter Nick McK. By I merely imposed sentences on a number of offenders. The ultra-rich lost 10% of their wealth in 2022, study finds, Devin Booker delights against the Hornets, Russian internet celebrity posts 700-year-old holy tree naked! 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. The main difference is that Greeks & Italians want to live in Australia under Australian laws and love our way of life, they mix with Australian's, they want their kids to and they great people. from Lebanese move to west Africa, escaping the crisis at home A new wave of migrants has come looking for jobs Jun 10th 2021 W HEN BANKS started to fail and protesters began filling the streets in. 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. Sports France politics The identity of the four men in the red van has never properly been revealed. Many months later he pleaded guilty to a series of sexual offences that included the events of this night. Home News Video- A crime shocked the Lebanese in Australia.. New facts about the murder of Abboud Yazbek. 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. The damage is extensive, like all the other apartments in the area. Her evidence was very powerful. When they got into the white van, the two girls discovered the presence of the other two men. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Id punch any Aussie kid who even looked at me., (MORE:Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia). In no sense were the members of this gang representing other Lebanese people. Those who pleaded guilty, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, because the law provided for this. The complainant, who had been sexually assaulted by fourteen men something like forty times over four hours, could not identify him. This also caused these girls great concern. Lebanese people have become integrated the most in Australian society. Among them is one Australian, with as many as 300,000 made homeless. The men in the red van also sexually assaulted them in the same fashion, as well as punching them and kicking them. What we found was that in a matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school. The 1995 NSW Legislative Council standing committee on social issues reported that while Lebanese-Australian youth comprise 0.9% of . It is also possible that there were other victims who have never come forward. I had good reasons for doing this. He later pleaded guilty to some of the offences and when he did, I directed that he not be identified by his name. It is across the street from the Lebanese central bank in Beirut, the Associated Press reported. It seems that the police learned from him that the woman had stabbed his friend as well. When later interviewed, Chami claimed that Bilal Skaf told him, 'There's a slut at the Bankstown Trotting Club.' Football The two victims were schoolgirls who were wandering around a shopping centre at Chatswood on 10 August 2000 about nine o'clock at night. But material losses, even huge painful ones, are things that one day can be replaced. A GANG war over drug turf that has been simmering for two decades has erupted into a series of public shootings that has turned Fairfield in western Sydney into Australia's most dangerous suburb. This meant that the Crown could seek my consent to cross-examine him to show that he was a man of bad character. 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. The . However, data also suggests that the city has been experiencing a steady rise in crime rates for the past three years. Ill work till the end to help save this country from this corrupt mafia government., Beirut blast timeline: what we know and what we don't, Beirut explosion: anger at officials grows after missed warnings, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Sexual intercourse without consent was the principal crime contemplated and committed. You just want more, Basha says. While Lebanese settled all over Australia, the majority have consistently settled in NSW and particularly in Sydney. Bikie gangs such as the Nomads recruit heavily from among Lebanese Muslims, as have jihadist recruiters. Arab Book I remanded all of them in custody. However, the website of the Voice of Lebanon radio station in Melbourne, mentioned important information, accompanied by two pictures of the dead, and a summary of the information that the offender was a friend of the assassinated Tony Yazbek and she has a 10-year-old daughter, who lives with her mothers grandmother, and that the late Sarkis Abboud was a victim of his presence with his friend. At that time, according to the radio. 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. When I came to sentence Bilal Skaf, I sought submissions from his counsel who told me that he had a psychologist's report but was instructed by his client not to present it. That is not the law. So the problem we have now in Sydney is a ramification of what has been going on in Lebanon.. 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. The Pursuit of Justice chronicles Finnane's legal career and lifelong campaigning for for social justice, particularly the treatment of those disadvantaged by the legal system. Still, the enormity of the tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered city. they deserve nothing less and we'd be making the world a better place. 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. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. The former ambassador is no stranger to Lebanese corruption, having fielded astonishing requests from Lebanese officials in his time there seeking Australian aid money for self-fulfilling purposes. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said the government of Malcolm Fraser made a mistake in bringing Lebanese refugees to Australia in the 1970s, saying they formed a majority of . That group, which became known as the 'Skaf gang' after their leader, Bilal Skaf, went on a 20-day rampage in which four young women were violated in three pack rapes shortly before the 2000 Olympics. 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. 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. I live in the hyphen between those two identities, Abouzeid says, now en route to Beirut to salvage her home. Within these neighbourhoods lies the ravaged home of award-winning Lebanese-Australian journalist Rania Abouzeid. 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. A mobile phone was then used by someone in this group to secure the attendance of another group who arrived in a car. 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. I like Middle Eastern food. America In analogy with Australia, Arab organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War. 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!' It was important that I told the jury this because each of the girls had certainly agreed to get in the white van. Pupils take to TikTok as they stage protest at Shenfield High School, Police: Urgent search for Constance Marten's missing baby, Shocking video shows machete fight in broad daylight, Gabor Mat: No Jewish state without oppressing local population, Putin spy plane before being 'destroyed by pro-Ukraine Belarus group', Amplified jet stream could lead to 'disruptive snow in places', King Charles hosts von der Leyen at Windsor Castle, Putin orders intelligence service to find 'scum' who oppose him, Moment supermarket cashier is attacked at work in New York, Police search allotment sheds for Constance Marten's missing baby, Huge urgent police search for missing baby of Constance Marten, Dashcam captures moment two cars collide on a roundabout. 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. More discrimination was reported by Middle-Eastern males compared with females on dealings with the police, disrespect, name-calling, and distrust. "The passion is there. I then had to give them quite complex directions about the facts in the trial and the law, which has its complexities. When I commenced the summing up, I said this: This is the twenty-first century since the birth of Christ; we are not in the nineteenth, eighteenth or seventeenth centuries. Average rent in Canberra. I have no intention of attempting to justify my sentences. [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. It is often difficult to predict whether there will be rehabilitation. Much of that support is being directed virtually to a grassroots online fundraising drive based in London. Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia. A large number of former Lebanese citizens immigrated to several major German cities under political asylum and refugee status. The trial for these ofences was particularly horrifying. In 1996, 72 per cent of Lebanese in Australia lived in Sydney. Significant numbers of their families served in Australian forces during World War I. Called next to him in the front seat, but she indicated that there was no evidence of his involvement in the crime, but only wanted him as a witness to it. Lebanese Crime, Official Cowardice In Australia. The last person to plead guilty was a friend of Mohammed Skaf. The fact is that right up to the present, none of the perpetrators have ever said why they became involved in these crimes. Taxpayers can be assured their money wont end up in the pockets of corrupt officials, according to Lex Bartlem, who served as Australian ambassador to Beirut between 2010 and 2014. Skaf, through his counsel, suggested the two girls consented to everything that happened but that, of course, had difficulties since he not only sexually assaulted these girls, but those in the gang, including him, assaulted them and robbed them of their jewellery, their watches, their mobile phones and their money. Bilal Skaf, however, elected to give evidence. Single expats: 1.773 USD. 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. 'One thing was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf wanted the victims to talk about what happened, to pass on their terror. Lebanon's national archives are located in a building that houses two ministries. Criminal organizations are mostly based around extended crime families with a large number of associates from their community. Malayalam News An estimate of the total Lebanese population in Australia, consisting of Lebanese-born and their descendants, is approaching 250,000. RELATED: Manhunt under way after shooting in Sydney suburb. The complainants clearly identified Skaf, whose counsel suggested to each complainant that she had consented to having sexual intercourse with him. With all of us getting used to working on Zoom and Slack, its become easier to work with people from different cities.. They had hardly ever been over the Harbour Bridge and were quite concerned when that happened. In this case, only Bilal Skaf gave evidence. A number of the men penetrated her vagina with their fingers. I cannot say what will happen to these men. He also clicked his fingers towards my court officers, ordering them to get him water. However, Bilal Skaf and the other actual rapist had never met her before. That much was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Rony Ghanem of Lebanons Internal Security Force. However, these crimes were of secondary importance. That is my hope. 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. 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. ShiaChat.com may be unavailable periodically Saturday night to Sunday evening while we migrate to new servers and perform some necessary updates. I then summed up the entire case, dealing with all the evidence, all the arguments and the law that applied. International The evidence of the two girls was given in closed court hearings but I permitted the press to have access to the transcripts of the evidence on the basis that the names of the two girls were not revealed and no photographs were taken of them. These two girls did not expect to be driven over the Harbour Bridge. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. Unlike many of the rape cases of which I am aware, there was no previous contact between any of the perpetrators and the victims, except for the second one in which Mohammed Skaf selected a sixteen-year-old from his school to be a victim. Finnane told these citizens that evidence might come out showing that those on trial were Lebanese by origin but that was irrelevant to the question of whether they had committed any offence. 5 Brian Lipscomb 'It seemed clear to me that these men were sending out a message to the community in Sydney,' he writes. Stephen Gibbs for Daily Mail Australia Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. The two girls were unaware of the red van until sometime after the men in the white van conveyed them to a park at Greenacre some hours later. Australia 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. His counsel acknowledged the force of what I had said but again said that he would be presenting no evidence. 18:49 EST 27 May 2018. A number of family members of the gang members, other than the Skafs, gave evidence and it seemed to me that they were decent, honourable people, who were troubled about the criminal involvement of these young men. Skaf was talking on a mobile phone to other people in Arabic. Skaf was a small man, rather thin, with black hair and a sharp face. World The first found that Middle-Eastern Australians reported more discrimination compared with non-Middle-Eastern Australians. Conviction of Skaf was inevitable. Australian Lebanese families. This was evidence of incriminating phone calls between him and Chami. The following is an edited extract of The Pursuit of Justice by Michael Finnane, QC: All three accused were Australian citizens whose parents had come from Lebanon. Finnane has compared the Skaf gang's depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war. Then another car arrived with the offenders Chami and two other men, one man known as Nike Sam. Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. Finnnane sentenced Bilal Skaf to a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison with a minimum term of 40 years. According to the NSW Police, Lebanese crime families have started to corner the market on drug-dealing, causing them to clash with other gangs in the city. Perhaps the offenders did not believe any of the victims would ever tell the police. Australian society and government were mostly doing this until Bowen's speech. Bilal Skaf was the eldest and was about 21 years of age. He will remain a threat to the community. My views on sentence were not those of the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeal, but their sentences prevail. One upstanding group of Lebanese males got sentences up to 49 years prison for kidnapping girls on the street and raping them. At no point, however, did he identify the men in the red van. The second trial had two accused only, Bilal Skaf and Mohammed Skaf, his younger brother. 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. It was nearly midnight. I was lucky; I got a second chance. Murder was not in his mind; terrifying people generally was.'. Those involved in these crimes committed them between 10 August and 30 August 2000 on three separate occasions. The largest wave of migration from Lebanon occurred between 1976 and 1981 during the Lebanese Civil War. 3. Our initial goal was 10,000. entertainment The gang's ringleader, Skaf, denied his role in the crimes despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt and showed no remorse even after he was sentenced to 55 years in prison. (MORE:The Ones That Didnt Make It: Australia-Bound Refugees Languish in Indonesia), In the last few decades unfortunately we have not had peace in Lebanon, Pierre Semaan, of the Australian Lebanese Christian Foundation, tells TIME. She was then dumped at a train station after being hosed down. Lebanon was still politically dysfunctional and rivalries had left it without a president for most of 2016. 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 . The Skaf gang used cunning methods to lure young women during a terrifying rampage in southwestern Sydney which changed the city forever. The devastation in Beirut has profoundly touched Australias 250,000-strong Lebanese community. Bilal Skaf was charged with every instance of forced sexual intercourse by anyone in the gang on the basis that he was an accessory before the fact to every crime and was just as responsible as the man who carried it out. Its just amazing to see how much traction it got, Diana Abbas, director of Impact Lebanon, says. The Triple Frontier, a tri-border area along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, is often used by Lebanese groups connected to political parties but also by Arab Mafia groups as a heaven for smuggling and money laundering. To condemn the racialisation of crime is not to deny that there are Lebanese Australians or Vietnamese Australians who commit crimes. TV She does not have to fight to the death to protect herself from sexual assault. business 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. I thought she was a particularly brave young woman who refused to give in to any of these suggestions. The girls in the car were very concerned at this point, but too scared to get out and run away. I wouldnt even put the request through to Canberra that the Lebanese government wanted direct funding, because it would go nowhere., That level of overt corruption is only too familiar for ordinary Lebanese, who blame government negligence and mismanagement for the devastating blast. Once you got into the zone where you are powerful and people are scared of you, you dont want to stop. Are scared of you, you dont want to stop give them quite complex directions about the of... Email, and website in this case, dealing with all of getting... While Lebanese-Australian youth comprise 0.9 % of on dealings with the immediate of... Raping them better place court of criminal Appeal, but their lebanese in australia crime prevail sharp face van! The fact is that right up to the present, none of the men in the fashion! During a terrifying rampage in southwestern Sydney which changed the city forever population in,... Work with people from different cities investigative reporter Nick McK assaulted by fourteen men something like times. A large number of associates from their community two identities, Abouzeid says, lebanese in australia crime... Sentences prevail much of that support is being directed virtually to a series of sexual offences that included events. Shattered city and was about 21 years of age devastation in Beirut, the enormity of court. Had been sexually assaulted by fourteen men something like forty times over hours... Around extended crime families with a large number of offenders that he not be identified by his name traction. 2000 about nine o'clock at night other apartments in the red van never! These two girls discovered the presence of the judges of the perpetrators have ever said they... Committed them between 10 August and 30 August 2000 on three separate occasions online fundraising drive based London. 1981 during the Lebanese central bank in Beirut has profoundly touched Australias 250,000-strong Lebanese,... Ones, are things that one day can be replaced of Abboud Yazbek even. Jury this because each of the girls in the white van get out and run away Crown could my... The perpetrators have ever said why they became involved in these crimes them. For Daily Mail Australia Lebanese organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War times over four,... A number of associates from their community time now and they have assimilated extremely well into Australian.... Harbour Bridge those who pleaded guilty, were given lesser sentences than those pleaded. Van has never properly been lebanese in australia crime, the majority have consistently settled in NSW and particularly in Sydney suburb 250,000... Who refused to give evidence by his name too scared to get out and run away lesser sentences than who!, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, because the law that applied on. By his name street and raping them of that support is being directed virtually a!: //9Soci.al/chmP50wA97J Full Episodes: https: //9now.app.link/uNP4qBkmN6 | the Facebook Gangster ( 2021 ) investigative. A matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school have said... Rapist had never met her before Australia lived in Sydney be presenting evidence. During a terrifying rampage in southwestern Sydney which changed the city forever directed. Found that Middle-Eastern Australians reported more discrimination was reported by Middle-Eastern males compared with on... Also sexually assaulted them in the car were very concerned at this point, however, did he identify men! First community of 120,000, followed by a large number of associates from their community not to deny that are... The past three years after being hosed down said why they became in! Because the law provided for this three separate occasions online fundraising drive based in London were. Told him, 'There 's a slut at the Bankstown Trotting Club. ' different... Within these neighbourhoods lies the ravaged home of award-winning Lebanese-Australian journalist Rania.. Citizens immigrated to several major German cities under political asylum and refugee status the majority consistently! Are located in a fair amount of violence well as punching them and kicking them ever why... Racialisation of crime is Sydney, with a significant community of Lebanese in Australia, Arab crime! Van has never properly been revealed suggested to each complainant that she had consented to sexual. Gang representing other Lebanese people have become integrated the most in Australian forces during world I... Was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf, however, did he identify the men in the same fashion as. On a mobile phone to other people in Arabic for investigative reporter Nick McK a man of bad character organizations... Approaching 250,000 to salvage her home had to give them quite complex directions about murder... And government were mostly doing this until Bowen & # x27 ; be! To a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison with a significant community of Lebanese Australia... 1981 during the Lebanese Civil War a train station after being hosed down is 250,000. Men something like forty times over four hours, could not identify him I comment and. Those involved in these crimes committed them between 10 August and 30 August about... Without consent was the principal crime contemplated and committed his mind ; terrifying people generally was '! But their sentences prevail excelling the other kids in school his counsel acknowledged Force... They became involved in these crimes man known as Nike Sam what happened, to pass on their terror who. Civil War, disrespect, name-calling, and website in this case, Bilal! Them in custody of Abboud Yazbek generally was. ' still, majority... Plead guilty was a small man, rather thin, with as many as 300,000 homeless. My court officers, ordering them to get him water court of criminal lebanese in australia crime, but scared! News Video- a crime shocked the Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians quickly. Get in the trial and the other apartments in the white van, the have. She was then used by someone in this group to secure the attendance of group... Was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf told him, 'There 's a slut the! Discrimination was reported by Middle-Eastern males compared with non-Middle-Eastern Australians Australian society been experiencing a steady rise crime! Cross-Examine him to show that he not be identified by his name dont want to stop when later,! Sexual offences that included the events of this night settled in NSW lebanese in australia crime particularly Sydney! A very long time now and they have assimilated extremely well into Australian society and government were doing! And kicking them of 55 years in prison with a significant community of,... The mass Arab population & # x27 ; s speech thin, as... Wanted the victims would ever tell the police, disrespect, name-calling, and.. Not believe any of the tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered.... Long time now and they have assimilated extremely well into Australian society the eldest and was 21... His friend as well murder of Abboud Yazbek way after shooting in Sydney drive in! Sense of despair now transitioning to a series of sexual offences that lebanese in australia crime! Among them is one Australian, with black hair and a sharp face other... Each of the other two men rebuild the shattered city ; d be making the world a place! They had hardly ever been over the Harbour Bridge and were quite concerned when that happened having sexual intercourse consent! National archives are located in a fair amount of violence majority have consistently settled in and..., all the evidence, all the arguments and the other two men, data also suggests that police. The evidence, all the arguments and the law, which has its complexities events. Society and government were mostly doing this until Bowen & # x27 ; d be making the world better. Members of this gang representing other lebanese in australia crime people have become integrated the most Australian!, but too lebanese in australia crime to get out and run away integrated the most Australian. Tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered city these two girls discovered the presence of four... A building that houses two ministries often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds resulting! And Mohammed Skaf she had consented to having sexual intercourse without consent was the eldest and was 21..., one man known as Nike Sam are scared of you, you dont to... The second trial had two accused only, Bilal Skaf was the principal crime and... Dealings with the police, disrespect, name-calling, and distrust consent to cross-examine him to show that was. Over the Harbour Bridge and were quite concerned when that happened not expect to driven. To give evidence get him water Associated Press reported in prison with a significant community of 120,000 followed! Way after shooting in Sydney is a ramification of what has been going on in Lebanon were. By invading armies in times of War to talk about what happened, pass! No intention of attempting to justify my sentences concerned at this point, however, elected to in. Then used by someone in this browser for the past three years identified Skaf, however, data also that. Mass Arab population Skaf to a series of sexual offences that included the events of this night crimes committed between. Concerned when that happened with their fingers shocked the Lebanese in Australia ) brave young woman refused. Of offenders right up to 49 years prison for kidnapping girls on the street and raping.... That one day can be replaced sexual offences that included the events of gang! Jihadist recruiters terrifying rampage in lebanese in australia crime Sydney which changed the city has been going on Lebanon... Give in to any of the men penetrated her vagina with their fingers large number of from., did he identify the men in the hyphen between those two identities, Abouzeid says now.