The Australian federal police obtained preventative detention orders for at least three people before the counter-terrorism raids in New South Wales, in what may be the first time the anti-terrorism powers have been used.



A spokesman for the AFP confirmed late on Friday that three men had been detained under the orders following the raids and had now been released without charge.

Preventative detention orders formed part of a tranche of anti-terrorism powers granted over a decade ago, and can be sought to detain people for lengthy periods of time without charge.

The AFP spokesman said in a statement: “Three men have been released from police custody this afternoon following the expiration of three Preventative Detention Orders (PDOs) issued under NSW legislation.

“The three men were taken into custody under the orders on the morning of Thursday, 18 September 2014 as part of Operation Appleby.”

The spokesman added: “Those orders were granted by the supreme court of NSW on Wednesday, 17 September 2014.

“Legal constraints prevented comment on the orders for the duration they were in place.”

It is still unclear how many people remain in detention and whether there are preventative detention orders in place to hold them. Under a combination of state and federal laws, people can be held under the orders without charge for up to 14 days without appearing before a court.

In a press conference earlier on Friday the acting AFP commissioner, Andrew Colvin, refused to answer questions about how many people were being detained without charge, when the number of people detained would be made public, and whether they had been brought before a court for their detention to be continued.

The AFP, NSW police and the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation took part in dawn raids in Sydney on Thursday, in what was touted as Australia’s largest counter-terrorism operation ever.

Only one person has been charged with a terrorism offence, while another person has been charged with a firearm offence. Two women were also issued with court-attendance notices, but the AFP and NSW police have not confirmed the nature of their court appearances.

The AFP said in a statement late on Thursday that nine of 15 people who had been detained on Thursday had been released.

Colvin appeared at a joint press conference with the prime minister, Tony Abbott, the NSW premier, Mike Baird, and the NSW police commissioner, Andrew Scipione, where he said: “There are certain things we can’t talk about for operational reasons.

“A number of people are still being detained, but I’m not in a position where I can confirm under what legislation or provisions they are being detained. A number of people have been released yesterday as well.”

When asked again how many people were being held the commissioner said: “I’d prefer not to comment about numbers, sorry.”

He added that more search warrants were executed later on Thursday night.

Australia’s anti-terrorism laws have been criticised for the lengthy periods people can be held without charge by police and intelligence agencies.

Under the anti-terrorism laws introduced in 2005 the AFP can obtain a “preventative detention order” to hold a person without charge for up to 14 days.



The order can be granted with only the authorisation of a senior AFP officer. A continuing order must be approved by a magistrate, but Colvin also refused to confirm whether or not the people who had been detained had appeared in court.

A control order could also be sought against a person, and Asio has further powers to detain someone without charge.

When asked at what stage the AFP would reveal the number of those who were still being detained without charge, Colvin said: “As I’ve said, a number of people have been released, and for a range of reasons I’m not going to confirm how many people are still detained. I’m sorry, I’m just not going to confirm that.

“It’s an ongoing operation. I’m sure you will respect that there are limitations with what I’m prepared to say, both legislatively and operationally.”

The prime minister supported the commissioner and said: “You’re perfectly entitled to ask these questions, but I think the vast majority of Australians are absolutely on the side, as they should be, of the police and the security services, who are there to keep them safe.

“The last thing any of us would want to do is damage our freedoms in order to preserve our freedoms.

“I don’t think any reasonable observer would say that Australian police, that NSW police, that our security services are unreasonable or over the top. We are simply doing what is necessary, in difficult circumstances, to keep our citizens safe.”

A spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns, said Australia’s anti-terrorism laws had draconian provisions that allowed people to be detained without charge.

“The AFP and the government have been very happy to feed the media sensational claims, which are simply claims at this point.

“They need now to be accountable to be able to care for the people they are holding.

“The conditions under which people can be detained are pretty outrageous. They don’t get access to lawyers like a traditional suspect. It’s basically psychological pressure they’re put under,” he said.