R v Khawaja [2020] NSWDC 718

R v Khawaja [2020] NSWDC 718

The offending required full-time imprisonment because the offender deliberately made false terrorism-related allegations and then attempted to pervert the course of justice in a way that caused and prolonged the imprisonment of an innocent man. The dishonestly influence offence was slightly below the midrange of objective seriousness, while the public justice offence was slightly above the midrange when considered with the forgery offence as context. However, the offender's guilty plea, contrition, borderline personality disorder causative of the offending, reduced moral culpability and deterrence, onerous custody, good rehabilitation prospects and low risk of reoffending warranted a...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
05 November 2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentence for Commonwealth Offences / Sentence After Guilty Plea
Outcome
The offender was convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 4 years and 6 months with a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months.
Legal Topics
['dishonestly Influencing a Commonwealth Public Official' 'attempting to Obstruct, Prevent, Pervert or Defeat the Course of Justice in Relation to a Judicial Power of the Commonwealth' 'making a False Document' 'inducing a Witness to Withhold True Testimony' 'objective Seriousness' 'mental Condition and Sentencing' 'aggregate Sentence' 'non Parole Period']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing' 'commonwealth Offences'] ['dishonestly Influencing a Commonwealth Public Official' 'attempting to Obstruct, Prevent, Pervert or Defeat the Course of Justice in Relation to a Judicial Power of the Commonwealth' 'making a False Document' 'inducing a Witness to Withhold True Testimony' 'objective Seriousness' 'mental Condition and Sentencing' 'aggregate Sentence' 'non Parole Period']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentence for Commonwealth Offences / Sentence After Guilty Plea

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What sentence should be imposed for the dishonestly influence offence and the public justice offence.' 'Whether the offender intended that false information provided to police would further incriminate Mr Nizamdeen in relation to the terrorism related offence with which he had been charged.' 'Whether, when creating false entries in the notebook, the offender intended police to accept them as genuinely belonging to Mr Nizamdeen.' 'The objective seriousness of the dishonestly influence offence.' 'The objective seriousness of the public justice offence, including the contextual relevance of the forgery offence taken into account under s 16BA of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).' "The effect of the offender's borderline personality disorder on moral culpability, deterrence, hardship in custody, rehabilitation and risk of reoffending." 'The appropriate aggregate sentence and non-parole period, including COVID-19 custody conditions and access to treatment.']

Ratio Decidendi

The offending required full-time imprisonment because the offender deliberately made false terrorism-related allegations and then attempted to pervert the course of justice in a way that caused and prolonged the imprisonment of an innocent man. The dishonestly influence offence was slightly below the midrange of objective seriousness, while the public justice offence was slightly above the midrange when considered with the forgery offence as context. However, the offender's guilty plea, contrition, borderline personality disorder causative of the offending, reduced moral culpability and deterrence, onerous custody, good rehabilitation prospects and low risk of reoffending warranted a...

Court Disposition

The offender was convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 4 years and 6 months with a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months.

Orders

  • ['The offender is convicted of the offences which bring him before the Court.' 'The offender is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 4 years and 6 months, with a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months.' 'The Court directs that such a term of imprisonment shall commence on 27 December 2018 and that the...