Australian who plotted with al-Qaida freed

An Australian who pleaded guilty to plotting with al-Qaida to bomb Israel's embassy in Australia was released on parole Thursday after serving half his nine-year sentence.

Jack Roche, a British-born Muslim convert, was convicted in May 2004 after he confessed to being involved in a plan hatched by al-Qaida to attack the embassy building in Canberra, the nation's capital. The plot was never carried out.

Roche, 53, left the Casuarina Prison in Western Australia state by taxi on Thursday after serving 4 1/2 years of his sentence, which included the 18 months he was held in custody before his trial.

"I'm glad to be out," he said in brief responses to reporters' questions.

Roche replied "no" when asked if he was still in contact with terrorists, and queried if he was going to stay out of trouble, he said: "Oh, most definitely."

Under the conditions of his parole, Roche will have to report regularly to the Australian federal police, who will also monitor his phone and Internet use.

Defense lawyer Hylton Quail urged the public to leave Roche in peace, saying he "just wants to live a quiet life."

Roche pleaded guilty to conspiring in a plan to use a truck bomb against the Israeli Embassy in Canberra he said was hatched by Osama bin Laden and senior terrorist operatives during a visit he made to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2000.

At first he denied being involved in the plot but changed his plea just 10 days into his trial in 2004.

He told the court he traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan in early 2000, where he said he met with bin Laden and several senior al-Qaida operatives, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Roche said bin Laden ordered him to set up a terror cell in Australia to target Israeli interests.

When he returned to Australia, Roche said he had doubts about the plan, but was afraid members of al-Qaida or Jemaah Islamiyah would find him and kill him if he didn't carry out the attack.

During his trial, Roche claimed to have entered the world of international terrorism through Australian contacts after he converted to Islam to overcome alcohol addiction, and he said he quickly fell out of his depth.

"I was in a situation and I couldn't stop it," Roche testified at the time. "You just don't walk away from these kinds of people."