Mohamed Musse Bakit, 65, was granted bail by Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday after being charged with intentionally being a member of Islamic State (ISIS). The court agreed to release him due to his health issues following a stroke in 2023 and his wife's dependency. Bakit faces five charges including possessing violent extremist material; police allege he shared thousands of files, including ISIS propaganda and execution videos, over WhatsApp from 2018 onwards.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Mohamed Musse Bakit, a 65-year-old Australian man accused of being an ISIS member, was granted bail by the Melbourne Magistrates Court in late July 2024. The court ruled that due to health issues and age concerns, Bakit should be released with conditions. He had been charged with intentionally being a member of a terrorist organization among other offenses, including possessing violent extremist material.
In November 2020, Australian Border Force stopped Bakit while he was traveling to Egypt, leading federal police to seize his electronic devices and examine them for potential terror-related content. His devices were re-examined in June 2021 upon his return from travel abroad. The most recent raid on Bakit's home occurred in July 2024.
Bakit’s legal team argued that he should be released due to medical conditions, lack of prior convictions, and the dependency of his wife on him for care. Consequently, Bakit was approved for NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) care following a stroke in 2023, which includes 24 hours of weekly support.
The decision sparked controversy over whether an accused terrorist should receive taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits under the NDIS program.
Written for “ISIS Propagandist NDIS Controversy” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 67483: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-09
An accused member of Islamic State will be released into the community because of health and age concerns and will receive 24-hour weekly NDIS care.
asserted
member → accuse → care
Mohamed Musse Bakit, 65, won his bid for bail in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, two weeks after he was first charged with intentionally being a member of a terrorist organisation.
asserted
he → win → organisation
Bakit's lawyers argued there were exceptional circumstances for his release, including his age, lack of prior convictions, medical issues and his wife's dependence on him.
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lawyers → argue → him
The court also heard Bakit had been approved for NDIS care following a stroke in 2023.
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Bakit → hear → 2023
Deputy chief magistrate Gerard Lethbridge agreed those matters were unusual and granted his application.
The Carlton resident appeared on a video link from custody and did not react as the decision was handed down.
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decision → agree → custody
He first came to the attention of authorities in November 2020 when he was stopped by Australian Border Force while travelling to Egypt to visit his mother.
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he → come → mother
A USB stick, phone and other storage devices were examined and allegedly contained videos of an Islamic preacher promoting jihad, the court was previously told.
uncertain
court → examine → jihad
Accused ISIS member Mohamed Musse Bakit has won his bid for bail after a court heard he had health and age concerns
He was arrested two weeks ago and charged with five offences, including being a member of a terrorist group and possessing violent extremist material
Bakit was allowed to leave the country but his devices were examined again when he returned to Australia in June 2021.
Federal police did not contact Bakit again until July 2024, when they raided his Carlton home in Melbourne's inner-north and seized electronic storage devices.
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they → accuse → devices
A subsequent analysis of his phone allegedly uncovered 9754 messages Bakit had sent in a WhatsApp group chat created by another IS supporter.
uncertain
Bakit → uncover → supporter
One of Bakit's alleged messages was a pledge of allegiance to IS sent on December 15, 2018, the court was told.
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court → allege → December
He also allegedly sent 3189 images, 1609 audio files, 811 videos and 487 documents of IS propaganda, including material showing beheadings and public executions.
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He → send → beheadings
The prosecution opposed bail, but Bakit's barrister Michael McGrath argued there were exceptional reasons to release his client.
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McGrath → oppose → client
He had no prior convictions and required assistance with daily tasks after suffering a stroke in 2023, Mr McGrath previously told the court.
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McGrath → have → court
Bakit's wife also relied on him as she could not speak English or work in Australia, the barrister said.
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barrister → rely → Australia
Police allege Bakit shared thousands of files of ISIS propaganda, including execution videos, suicide bombings, and official ISIS documents (stock image of ISIS supporter in Syria)
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Bakit → allege → Syria
Mr Lethbridge on Thursday accepted Bakit's age, parlous health and his wife's dependency amounted to exceptional circumstances.
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age → accept → circumstances
'The court accepts he suffers significant health issues and is at a greater risk of adverse health if he remains in custody,' the magistrate said.
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magistrate → accept → custody
Mr Lethbridge noted most of the allegations were dated and there had not been further offending.
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most → note → allegations
The magistrate accepted there were triable issues in the case and a possibility Bakit could spend more time on remand than any eventual sentence.
uncertain
Bakit → accept → sentence
Those factors were exceptional and meant bail should be granted with strict conditions, Mr Lethbridge said.
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Lethbridge → mean → conditions
The conditions included a ban on leaving the state, using encrypted messaging applications and downloading terrorist material.
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conditions → include → material
Bakit is due to return to court in March.
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Bakit → return → March
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