Khawaja, 39, was arrested in Sydney Tuesday morning after a counter-terrorism investigation into a document containing plans to assassinate Turnbull and Bishop and carry out other terrorist attacks at the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House.
— The Weekly Turnaround (@WeeklyTurner) December 4, 2018
Twenty-five-year-old Sri Lankan-born PhD student Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen, who is Khawaja's university colleague, was previously charged with creating the document, which was found at the University of New South Wales in August, and spent four weeks in a supermax jail in Goulburn, New South Wales, for it the Independent reported Tuesday. Now, it appears, the police believe Khawaja set Nizamdeen up, though the details of how he framed Nizamdeen are unclear.
In September, Nizamdeen was released, and charges against him were dropped the following month after it was revealed that his handwriting did not match the handwriting in the document.
"What we will be alleging is that he [Nizamdeen] was set up in a planned and calculated manner. Motivated, in part, by a personal grievance," New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing told reporters, according to media outlets, also adding that Khawaja's motivation may have been a dispute over a woman.
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) December 4, 2018
Australian police have paid Nizamdeen's court costs, but he is seeking further damages from authorities. Details on the compensation he is seeking have not been revealed.
"What authorities have done to this young man is absolutely unforgivable," Nizamdeen's lawyer Moustafa Kheir said after the charges were dropped, the Star Tribune reported.
"It's a terrible experience. He is a young man that has done everything right in life. And he has gone through supermax jail — unforgivable circumstances."
Khawaja's arrest comes just days before his brother, Usman, is scheduled to to play for Australia in the first test match of a four-game series against India in Adelaide, a city in Australia.
"This is a matter for police to deal with. Out of respect for the process, it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment. I just ask for you to please respect my privacy and my family's privacy during this time," Usman said in a statement Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Khawaja was granted bail in Sydney's Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday on charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and forgery. The conditions of his bail are unknown.
