Convicted terrorist ABDUL NACER BENBRIKA will walk free from Barwon Prison this Saturday after his extended prison sentence expires.
Benbrika was originally jailed for 15 years over a plot to bomb the MCG on Grand Final day 2005. His detention was extended by three years in 2020 after a court found he still posed a signinficant risk to the community.
His pending release has triggered demands for the federal government to intervene and have his term extended for a second time.
However Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he had received advice that there was no legal basis to keep Benbrika behind bars.
The terrorist will instead face severe restrictions under a three-year close supervision order that carries a five year jail term if breached.
The Victorian Supreme Court is expected to confirm his release at a hearing set down for tomorrow.
Now 63 and with white hair and an orange-tinged grey beard, Algerian-born Benbrika had his citizenship cancelled by then home affairs minister Peter Dutton in 2020.
However the decision was overruled last month when the High Court found the ministerial powers breached the constitution.
Benbrika was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2009 over his involvement in a terror cell that plotted to attack the MCG and Crown Casino.
His trial was told he planned to take his 12 co-accused on a terrorist training trip to Ocean Grove.
