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>>24180069

Brandan Koschel jailed over antisemitic speech at Sydney Australia Day protest

Millie Roberts and Pablo Vinales - 18 February 2026

A man who delivered an antisemitic speech at a protest on Australia Day has been jailed, with a Sydney court hearing the term of imprisonment "must be used to deter others".

Brandan Koschel was charged with publicly inciting hatred on the grounds of race causing fear after speaking during an open mic session at the anti-immigration gathering on January 26 at Moore Park.

A statement of agreed facts in the case identified two sentences directed at the Jewish community, which constituted the offending.

The 40-second speech received "cheers in response" and were "clearly antisemitic and vilified Jewish people", the court heard.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty last week and his lawyer on Tuesday argued for him to be spared a custodial sentence.

'Motivated by hate'

Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund on Wednesday said Koschel voluntarily speaking at a pre-organised event on a public holiday in front of several hundred people, meant he reasonably knew his words "could have resulted in the republication of his hate speech".

She said the words were "divisive" and were of the form "that incite people to further hate and sometimes … spur violence".

"In this case it is clear Mr Koschel's offending was motivated by hate and prejudice," she said.

Magistrate Freund noted how "vulnerable" the Jewish community was in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack and the uptick of antisemitism in Sydney preceding it.

"The Jewish community were the clear and unequivocal target … [and] would further fear harassment, intimidation and violence [from] his words," she said.

No remorse shown

The magistrate said Koschel's actions took place on a "day of unity where people come together to reflect on shared values [and his] offending was the antithesis of that".

"The indication or normalisation of hatred directed at the Jewish people … will not be tolerated and must be used to deter others," she said.

Magistrate Freund said she felt "satisfied no penalty other than a full-term imprisonment is appropriate in this case".

She also noted Koschel had not shown any remorse nor apologised and his "lack of insight is relevant to the sentence".

Koschel, who appeared via audio-video link from Shortland Correctional Centre, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after a 25 per cent discount was actioned for his guilty plea.

The term was backdated for time served since his arrest, and he will be eligible to apply for parole on October 26.

The maximum penalty for the offence is two years' jail time.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-18/nsw-brandan-koschel-jailed-antisemitic-speech-australia-day/106358160

Man charged with terrorism offences after routine Sydney traffic stop

BIMINI PLESSER - 19 February 2026

A man has been charged with terrorism offences after he was allegedly found in possession of devices containing “violent extremist material” during a traffic stop in Sydney late last year.

Abdallah El Chami, 31, was arrested after his car was pulled over by police in Yagoona in Sydney’s south west on December 31, 2025.

Upon searching the Toyota sedan, officers allegedly found and seized drugs, cash and three mobile phones.

Mr El Chami was taken to Bankstown Police Station where he was charged with supplying a prohibited drug, recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime less than $5000 and using a vehicle that did not comply with standards.

He was refused police bail and spent New Year’s Eve in custody. On January 1, he faced Bail Division Local Court, where he was granted conditional bail.

Police, with assistance from the Counter Terrorism & Special Tactics Command, examined the three mobile phones seized during the December traffic stop and allegedly found violent extremist material on one of them.

About 6am on Wednesday, police executed a search warrant on a Bass Hill home in southwest Sydney.

Police video shows officers rapping on the front door of the house and shouting, “police search warrant, open the door”.

When their calls go unanswered, officers force their way inside, ordering the occupants to “get on the ground” as they rush in.

The footage then shows Mr El Chami sitting shirtless and handcuffed on the front steps after he was arrested by police.

After being allowed inside to get dressed, the 31-year-old was led out of the house and locked in the back of a police vehicle.

Police allegedly found and seized multiple mobile phones and storage devices, as well as a knife, during the search.

Mr El Chami was taken to Bankstown Police Station, where he was charged with using a carriage service to possess violent extremist material and possessing or using a prohibited weapon without a permit.

He was initially refused police bail, but he was granted bail under strict conditions at Bankstown Local Court later that day.

Mr El Chami had to provide a $20,000 security deposit to secure his bail and will be required to report to police three times a week for its duration.

The 31-year-old will remain on house arrest while on bail, with legal, police, medical or court appointments the only exceptions.

He is also not to drink alcohol, take any non-prescription drugs, or go within 500 metres of any point of interstate or international departure.

Mr El Chami is allowed to have just one phone, which he must provide to police upon request, and is barred from using any device capable of accessing the internet.

His next court appearance is scheduled for March 3 at Bankstown Local Court.

Mr El Chami’s arrest occurred less than three weeks after 15 people were killed in the Bondi terror attack.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/man-charged-with-terrorism-offences-after-routine-sydney-traffic-stop/news-story/8630ba1e8e20bd65f054915d14b088d5

>>24243846

>>24248847

>>24260475

Chinese spy told to crack enemy’s inner circle and be rewarded, police allege

ELIZABETH PIKE and LIAM MENDES - 19 February 2026

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The alleged ringleader of a group of Chinese spies was told she would be rewarded by leaders in Beijing if they followed instructions and infiltrated the “enemy’s inner circle” at a Canberra Buddhist association, according to police allegations in court documents.

Zheng Siru, 31, a 25-year-old man known by the pseudonym “Joseph Vance” and a woman given the name “Thomas Tyler” have been charged with reckless foreign interference after police accused the trio of collecting information on the Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Association for Beijing’s Public Security Bureau (PSB).

The Chinese Communist Party considers the Buddhist group an “evil cult” and a 56-page statement of police facts, released on Wednesday, alleges the trio were directed by a PSB official in China to spy on its members.

Police allege that in February 2023 Tyler reached out to a PSB official on WeChat and asked if they were still investigating the Buddhist group, as she had received information from a witness that the association had opened a “new company” in the Canberra CBD. Tyler’s husband works in China, ­according to the fact sheet.

The official referred to Tyler as “my niece” on multiple occasions and told her to find out the “latest information” and “infiltrate the enemy’s inner circle”.

The official allegedly added: “You slip in and get yourself a ­senior executive position or ­something.

“Doesn’t this have a bit of a spy thriller feel to it. First, maintain confidentiality. Second, inform me immediately if anything arises.”

Tyler replied the plans were moving “rather quickly” and raised concerns that she would be arrested. She said the plan was difficult for her as she was an atheist, but the official reassured her that “once you become Grand Master, you’ll pull the whole thing off”.

Police allege the People’s Republic of China started directing Tyler and her co-accused to monitor the Buddhist group after their former leader, Master Lu Junhong, died in 2021.

The official, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly encouraged Tyler to climb as “high as you can” through the ­association.

When she asked whether she would be rewarded, the official spurred her on, saying: “If you climb high enough, you’ll be commended directly by the leaders in Beijing”.

In their final words of ­encouragement, the official allegedly said Tyler should give the plan a go as “life will be all the more exciting for it”.

Tyler said she would “have to ask my husband”.

“Right then. I’ll give it a proper go and see if I can sneak in,” Tyler texted during the exchange. “Let me go undercover. I still need to amass wealth.”

Since the exchange in early 2023, police allege Tyler travelled to China from Australia on three separate occasions. During an earlier trip to China in May 2022, Tyler messaged her co-accused Zheng and Vance on WeChat with a set of instructions to monitor Guan Yin Citta.

The pair were told to research the group, focus on “understanding the current situation, activities, activity methods, and organisational structure” after the leader’s death, and to search through “Chinese communities or personal networks” in Australia for followers.

Vance allegedly said he would create a “bundle” from his findings while Zheng suspected the Chinese embassy was “monitoring the situation”. “After all, cults. Registration is required,” she texted.

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Further messages allegedly show that Zheng identified four people connected to the group to Tyler using company searches and Facebook, and Tyler told her to keep “an eye” on them.

ASIC numbers, addresses and screenshots of locations on Google Street View were exchanged before the official asked for a call to be made to the group’s Melbourne branch in June, 2022.

Tyler texted Zheng and told her to make the call under the guise of wanting to join the group and learn about the practice, but the call did not connect. Zheng passed on the same instructions to Vance: “Just say you’d like to join to learn more about this practice. If possible, have a local friend use a payphone to call and ask where the group practice sessions are.”

Police records allege Tyler continued to message the Chinese PSB official until May last year. One month later, the AFP executed search warrants on the homes of Zheng and Tyler. At Tyler’s residence, officers seized a Guan Tin Citta booklet, which she claimed was “brought by her boyfriend and she was unaware of its contents”, and electronic items. Zheng’s mobile phone was seized.

After the home was searched, Tyler had a phone conversation with a business associate, who told her: “There must be something substantial being offered for them to act this way”.

Fact sheets released in August last year revealed police located hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ­luxury goods when executing the warrant, including a Rolex watch receipt and large boxes of high-end handbags “that were too numerous to practicably count”.

Police also executed a search warrant on the anonymised “Witness One”, who was allegedly tasked by both Tyler and Zheng to covertly collect information on the Guan Yin Citta. A Telegram message showed Tyler told Witness One the Guan Yin Citta was classified as a “cult”.

Officers executed a search warrant on Vance’s home on December 11 last year. In a recorded conversation while the search warrant was taking place, Vance allegedly agreed Tyler had “sent him a number of questions via WeChat about Guan Yin Citta and he undertook inquiries online to locate information related to the organisation”.

“He collated all the information he obtained and placed 99 gigabytes of data into an online ‘file sharing’ service and sent the link to Ms Tyler,” the fact sheet reads.

“In relation to obtaining the information about Guan Yin Citta, Mr Vance stated: “If I was asked to get some information for online, I would just do it’.”

According to the fact sheet, Tyler, Vance and Zheng all arrived in Australia on student visas and later became permanent residents. The Australian previously approached Zheng at a Canberra store, where she denied she was a spy for China and expressed hopes for a “peaceful life”.

Tyler, Vance and Zheng have all pleaded not guilty and were released on bail. They will return to court in April.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/spy-told-to-crack-enemys-inner-circle-and-be-rewarded-police-allege/news-story/8aafdedcc23e9e399af3633f25712d2e

>>23959445

>>24114637

Kevin Rudd ‘did not engage’ with man alleged to have sold information to China

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - 19 February 2026

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Kevin Rudd will give evidence in the trial of a Bondi businessman accused of selling AUKUS information to Chinese spies, after the businessman allegedly claimed he had spoken to the former prime minister about the Quad alliance.

Alexander Csergo, who has been charged with reckless foreign interference, allegedly accepted envelopes of cash from spies “Ken” and “Evelyn” while he was living in Shanghai in exchange for reports about Australia’s defence, economic and national security arrangements.

On the first day of trial on Thursday, the court heard Dr Rudd would tell the court he “did not engage” with Mr Csergo, despite Mr Csergo telling Ken and Evelyn in one of his reports that he had spoken with the then-US ambassador.

The crown alleges Mr Csergo used his skills and expertise to locate and collate information on topics like lithium mining, the change in German government, defence, the Quad alliance and AUKUS, and iron ore in Australia.

It is alleged he continued to maintain a relationship with Ken and Evelyn between November 2021 and March 2023, even though he believed they worked with the Ministry of State Security, which is an intelligence agency for the People’s Republic of China.

In collating one of the reports, he reached out to Dr Rudd for his advice in relation to defence and the Quad alliance, but Dr Rudd “did not give a reply”.

“Dr Rudd’s evidence will be in the effect that he did not engage with the accused,” crown prosecutor Jennifer Single SC told the court.

In eight hours of recorded interview between Mr Csergo and police following a raid on his mother’s Bondi home and his arrest, he told police he believed Ken and Evelyn were “grooming him” as a potential source to be used in the future.

He also told police there were Covid lockdowns in Shanghai that restricted his ability to leave, and that while he had suspicions about Ken and Evelyn, he “felt he had to work for them”.

Lawyers for Mr Csergo argued that he had used largely “open-source” information that anyone could search on Google, and that expert evidence would suggest the reports were “complete gibberish”.

“There were no secrets disclosed, no blueprints of military weapons … in any of those reports. Instead, he agreed to provide what we say are properly classified as commercially available information and he did so for money, another indication of a commercial arrangement,” defence barrister Ian Todd told the court.

In his short opening address, Mr Todd said the only deception he committed was “to the people said to be Chinese intelligence” who asked him from something other than open-source information, and that he took the money because it was a “commercial enterprise”.

The “conduct” Mr Csergo engaged in – that he did certain things when living in China where Covid was rampant – was “not really in dispute”, he said.

Ms Single told the jury that a key piece of evidence in the case would be a “shopping list” that listed the information and “specific topics” that Ken wanted to know during Mr Csergo’s visit to Sydney in March 2023.

It read: “1) All china related issues in US, Aus intel community;

“2) Apart from China issues, what is happening in intel community is still needed e.g. developments in technology mechanism tools, tactics etc;

“3) Defence and national security strategy on China, new defence budget;

“4) Foreign policy (China policy), US/Aus coordination … global hot matters approaching cabinet or ministerial level, find out rumours … in Canberra or DC.”

He also listed Five Eyes intel community, China spying, China security, AUKUS and “preparing for Taiwan war”.

(continued)

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About two weeks into his trip to Australia, Mr Csergo’s house would be raided, where police would find some of the reports he had sent to Ken and Evelyn on his laptop, and discover some 2875 WeChat messages to Ken and about 421 messaged he had sent to Evelyn.

She said the arrangement was that he would meet Ken and Evelyn in “empty cafes”, where he would provide the reports and the pair would give him cash, and that he knew he had to be “careful”.

Often Mr Csergo would follow up after a few days and ask if they had any questions or needed anything else, she said.

Ms Single argued that it didn’t matter that information obtained and provided by the accused “may have been from open-source material” and “nor does it matter that some of information he provided was not in fact true”.

It only mattered, she said, that Mr Csergo believed the information he provided to the spies was “relevant to their needs” and that he wanted to develop a relationship between Ken and Evelyn.

The spies often thanked him, told him the information was “helpful” and continued to pay him in cash for his work, she said.

She also said it didn’t matter why the accused engaged in the conduct, including whether he felt he had to or that he was under surveillance in China.

“What matters is whether the accused intentionally engaged in the conduct,” she said.

Ms Single said the arrangement began when Mr Csergo received a direct message on LinkedIn from someone called Vera Sue, who said she was from the think tank Nesa Consulting and asked if he could provide his business services.

She told him “our clients are state-owned companies, Chinese companies who want to thrive in Australia … they would like to know risks in advance” and said her company provided “useful intelligence … in the form of reports”.

When Mr Csergo searched online for the company, he couldn’t find any information, the court heard, before meeting Evelyn at a cafe.

A jury of 12 must meet a unanimous verdict on the Commonwealth charge.

If found guilty and convicted of the offence, Mr Csergo could spend up to 15 years in prison.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/kevin-rudd-did-not-engage-with-man-alleged-to-have-sold-information-to-china/news-story/c7506489dc98f306da5dc2b3df528ee5

https://qresear.ch/?q=Alexander+Csergo