Australian court quashes terror conviction

An appeals court in Melbourne today quashed the conviction of a British-born Australian man accused of receiving funds from al-Qaida, ruling that some of the evidence against him was not admissible at his trial.

Joseph Thomas, a British-born Muslim convert nicknamed “Jihad Jack” by Australian media, was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and was charged under tough Australian anti-terrorism laws passed in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.