The father of a man arrested by counter-terrorism authorities has also been arrested for breaching a weapons prohibition order.
Two days after he expressed concern to Fairfax Media about his son's arrest, Mohammed Elzamtar, the caretaker of Sefton mosque, was arrested on Thursday morning by the NSW Joint Counter-Terrorism Team at his Sefton home.
Mr Elzamtar, 60, is charged with breaching a weapons prohibition order by being in possession of, and using, a flick knife.
The prohibition order, which police can serve on people if they believe it is in the public interest, was served on Mr Elzamtar in January 2016.
His family's Sefton home was raided on September 30, 2016 and again on November 14, 2016 while Mr Elzamtar was in Lebanon. The knife was discovered in the first raid.
The second raid was related to the arrest of Mr Elzamtar's son Billal Elzamtar, who was charged on November 14 with breaching an apprehended violence order, using a carriage service to threaten serious harm and stalking and intimidation.
The charges relate to an allegedly threatening phone call that Billal made to his brother-in-law over a domestic dispute.
While Billal Elzamtar was awaiting a decision on his bail application in the matter, police raided his home and found a ballistics vest.
A brother claimed ownership of the ballistics vest but Billal Elzamtar has also been charged with possession of the flick knife. He has pleaded not guilty to all offences.
On Tuesday, Mr Elzamtar had told Fairfax Media that he feared his son's arrest was a "fishing expedition" because it was being handled by counter-terrorism police despite the seemingly unrelated and minor nature of the offences.
Counter-terrorism sources told Fairfax Media they received the information first so took carriage of the matter – as is common practice – and that Billal Elzamtar was not seen as a current terrorism threat.
Mohammed Elzamtar had a visit last year from ASIO officers who were concerned about potential extremist preachings in the mosque.
Some of his family have been closely monitored by counter-terrorism authorities. His son-in-law, Milad Bin Ahmad-Shah Al-Ahmadzai, is in SuperMax for terrorism offences and another relative was named in a federal terrorism control order last year when he was 12 years old.
Billal Elzamtar was released from prison on parole in June after serving about 3½ years of a six-year sentence for an attempted ATM ram raid and for concealing information about another ram raid by Al-Ahmadzai.
A weapons prohibition order not only prevents a person from owning proscribed weapons such as several types of knives but also requires them to notify police of the presence of a prohibited weapon in their home.
The Elzamtar family declined to speak on Thursday.
A Muslim community leader who knows the family, and who asked not to be identified, said he feared Mr Elzamtar was being punished for speaking out in defence of his son.
Mohammed Elzamtar was granted conditional bail to appear at Bankstown Local Court on February 8.