The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has proposed legislation that would allow for convicted terrorists to be held indefinitely in prison if considered a threat.

The proposed changes to legislation would allow convicted terrorists to be detained in jails for an infinite amount of time, regardless of their sentence length. While Turnbull said the changes were about promoting and ensuring community safety in a time of heightened uncertainty, the proposal has been criticised on the basis of civil rights.

Australia has no Charter of Human Rights which would require the Parliament or the courts to consider whether counter-terrorism laws comply with human rights principles. Without this charter, the Australian Government can operate in a legal grey area. Read more...

The women of May 19th bombed the U.S. Capitol and plotted Henry Kissinger’s murder. But they’ve been long forgotten.

An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen today pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to murder Americans overseas, including by planting roadside bombs targeting U.S. soldiers in Fallujah, Iraq, and by demonstrating on video how these explosives would be detonated to destroy American vehicles and their occupants.

Christopher Paul, a/k/a Abdul Malek, a/k/a Paul Kenyatta Laws, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen born in Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for conspiring with others to use a weapon of mass destruction, namely explosive devices, against targets in Europe and the United States.

An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen was sentenced to 25 years in prison today for conspiring to murder Americans overseas, including by planting roadside bombs targeting U.S. soldiers in Fallujah, Iraq, and by demonstrating on video how these explosives would be detonated to destroy American vehicles and their occupants.

Since the 1990s, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has investigated and successfully prosecuted a wide range of international and domestic terrorism cases — including the bombings of the World Trade Center and U.S. Embassies in East Africa in the 1990s.

After a bench trial held last week in the Northern District of Georgia, U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr., announced today that Syed Haris Ahmed, 24, has been found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.

A federal jury has found Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., guilty on all four counts of an indictment charging him with supporting terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization, after a trial that lasted seven days.

Two individuals in Colorado and one individual in New York have been arrested on charges of making false statements to federal agents in an ongoing terror investigation.

Three Ohio residents, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 29, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 46, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 28, have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from more than 8 years to 20 years for conspiring to commit terrorist acts against Americans overseas, including U.S. military personnel in Iraq, and other terrorism-related violations.

Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets.

According to the charging documents, the offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization; attending terrorist training camps operated by al-Shabaab; and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab.

A Chicago man who was arrested in October for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees is alleged to have also conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 terrorist attack on India’s largest city that killed approximately 170 people, including six Americans, and injured hundreds more.

"The challenges facing law enforcement in tribal communities are enormous. The basic level of police protection that most Americans take for granted simply does not exist in many parts of Indian Country. We have a duty to change that."

Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 25, of Atlanta, were sentenced today in federal court following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials.

A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Tahawwur Rana, to charges filed last month against David Coleman Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York has returned a superseding indictment charging Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin with terrorism violations stemming from, among other activities, their alleged roles in the plot involving Najibullah Zazi to attack the New York subway system in mid-September 2009

David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen of partial Pakistani descent, pleaded guilty today to a dozen federal terrorism charges, admitting that he participated in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, as well as later planning to attack a Danish newspaper.

A superseding indictment unsealed this afternoon in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania charges Jamie Paulin Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado, and Colleen R. LaRose, aka "Fatima LaRose," aka "JihadJane," a resident of Pennsylvania, with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

"Whether it is in counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, money laundering, smuggling or combating international organized crime, Spain has long been and will continue to be a strong partner for the United States," said Attorney General Holder.

"This plot, as well as others we have encountered, makes clear we face a continued threat from al-Qaeda and its affiliates overseas," said Attorney General Holder.

“The Council’s adoption of this Declaration is a crucial step forward in our mutual fight against terrorism," said Attorney General Holder.

As part of the cooperation and partnership between the United States and India in the fight against international terrorism, Indian law enforcement officials were provided direct access to interview David Coleman Headley.

– Bajram Asllani, 29, a resident of Mitrovica, Kosovo, has been charged in a criminal complaint with providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.

The Justice Department announced that four separate indictments were unsealed today in the District of Minnesota, the Southern District of Alabama and the Southern District of California charging 14 individuals with terrorism violations for providing money, personnel and services to the foreign terrorist organization al-Shabaab.

Hakimullah Mehsud, the self-proclaimed emir of the Pakistani Taliban, has been charged by criminal complaint for his alleged involvement in the murder of seven American citizens on Dec. 30, 2009, at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

Zachary Adam Chesser, 20, of Fairfax County, Va., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady to a three-count criminal information that included charges of communicating threats against the writers of the South Park television show, soliciting violent jihadists to desensitize law enforcement, and attempting to provide material support to Al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

After more than two years of legal proceedings, alleged international arms dealer Viktor Bout has been extradited to the Southern District of New York from Thailand to stand trial on terrorism charges.

Tanja Anamary Nijmeijer, a Dutch national who moved to Colombia and joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2002, and 17 other members of the FARC designated foreign terrorist organization were indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., today on seven counts of terrorism and weapons charges arising out of their participation in the hostage-taking of three American citizens in the Republic of Colombia.

Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, 38, was arrested in Canada today pursuant to a U.S. provisional arrest warrant, based on a complaint in the United States charging him with conspiring to kill Americans abroad and with providing material support to that terrorist conspiracy to kill Americans abroad.

Daniel Patrick Boyd, aka “Saifullah,” 40, pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Bern, N.C., to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country.

Jamie Paulin Ramirez, 32, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Chairman Sensenbrenner, Ranking Member Scott, and members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, thank you for inviting me to testify today concerning the three provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) that were recently reauthorized but are scheduled to sunset again in May.

A Joint statement on behalf of the United States and the European Union:

Today I will address other national security investigative authorities enacted or amended as part of the USA PATRIOT Act, focusing in particular on the legal authorities relating to national security letters.

"The department has organized itself to ensure that we are in a position to aggressively investigate and prosecute cyber crime wherever it occurs," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Weinstein.

An Iraqi citizen who allegedly carried out numerous Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and another Iraqi national alleged to have participated in the insurgency in Iraq have been arrested and indicted on federal terrorism charges in the Western District of Kentucky.

Zakariya Boyd, aka “Zak,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Bern, N.C., to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

A Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business was convicted today of participating in conspiracy involving a terrorism plot against a Danish newspaper and providing material support to a terrorist organization based in Pakistan.

Emerson Winfield Begolly, 22, of New Bethlehem, Pa., pleaded guilty today in Pittsburgh to soliciting others to engage in acts of terrorism within the United States and to using a firearm during and in relation to an assault on FBI agents.

Dylan Boyd, aka “Mohammed,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Bern, N.C., to one count of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

"In this time of uncommon challenges and evolving threats, our allegiance to these values – of liberty, privacy, opportunity, and justice – and the achievement of our collective security goals – have never been more important, or more urgent," said Attorney General Holder.

"Our common objective is to deploy the counter terrorist financing tools available to the United States in a coordinated, integrated fashion to effectively disrupt the flow of funds and other material support to terrorist organizations," said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

Ali Charaf Damache, an Algerian man who resided in Ireland, and Mohammad Hassan Khalid, a Pakistani citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident who resided in Maryland, have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in a superseding indictment returned today in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

"The fight against transnational organized crime is one of the highest enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice and the Administration," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

“Today, one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers is being held accountable for his sordid past,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

"OJP’s mission is to increase public safety and improve the fair administration of justice across America through innovative leadership and programs," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.