Sevdet Besim, a 19-year-old Australian, is accused of developing an terror attack using a kangaroo stuffed with explosives and painted with the ISIS symbol. The plan was allegedly to set the kangaroo loose on police in Melbourne on Anzac day, which is April 25, a public commemoration of war dead.
Besim has denied four charges of planning a terrorist act, appearing in court on Thursday. He is also accused of planning to run over and behead a policeman, and communicating with a teenager overseas, with whom federal authorities in Australia say he was discussing the plot.
According to the Melbourne Age newspaper, that conversation included Besim’s daily activities, and a general discussion about Australian animals, including a suggestion that it would be possible to pack a kangaroo with C4 explosive, paint it with the ISIS symbol, and turn it loose on police officers.
Besim was arrested last April, shortly before Anzac Day. According to police, they suspected that the teen was linked to Numan Haider, 18. Haider stabbed two Melbourne officers in 2014 before being shot and killed.
Anzac day commemorates the 1915 Gallipoli landings, the first major military action fought by the New Zealand and Australian Army Corps during World War I
If convicted, Besim could face life in prison.