EXCLUSIVE: Army reservist tortured by his cellmate known as ‘The Carver’ slams ISIS supporter’s ‘pathetic’ 34 year jail sentence – claiming it will make terrorists think ‘Australia is easy’
- Michael O’Keefe nearly died after he was tortured by his cellmate in April 2016
- Bourhan Hraichie carved ‘E 4 E’ into his forehead, whipped and scalded him
- Islamic State supporter, 22, convicted for committing acts for planning terrorism
- He plotted to shoot dead police officers and behead the NSW prisons boss
- Hraichie will be 50 when he is eligible for parole in 2047
An Australian Army reservist whose face was turned into an ‘Islamic State sketch pad’ by his cellmate has slammed his 34 year jail sentence as ‘pathetic’.
Michael O’Keefe, 43, nearly died after Bourhan Hraichie carved ‘E 4 E’ (an eye of an eye) into his forehead, whipped him with a coaxial cord and scalded him in 2016.
The Islamic State supporter was last week slapped with the ‘very substantial’ sentence by the NSW Supreme Court.
But Mr O’Keefe condemned the sentence, saying Hraichie should have got life imprisonment.
‘If I waited for him to come out and murdered him, I’d only get the same time as what he got,’ the ex-con said.
Bourhan Hraichie, above, worked as an apprentice electrician just a few years ago – and will spend between 29 and 34 years behind bars
Michael O’Keefe recovers in hospital on left. His back is seen on right after Hraichie whipped him with a coaxial cord
Hraichie (above) turned O’Keefe’s head into an ‘Islamic State sketch pad’
Mr O’Keefe, who shared a cell with Hraichie for space reasons, argued to Daily Mail Australia that the sentenced would not deter other terror supporters.
‘He’s a terrorist. He might’ve got thirty four years, what’s thirty four years for a terrorist act in Australia?
‘That’s going to get more people thinkin’, Australia’s easy.’
Michael O’Keefe shows off his scars
‘(The law) needs to changed dramatically or they need to come up to today’s standards.’
Hraichie, 22, was convicted of attempting to murder O’Keefe and causing grievous bodily harm.
He was also jailed for planning terrorist acts in a plot to shoot police officers and a threat to behead the Corrective Services NSW commissioner Peter Severin.
Mr O’Keefe said he would suffer the consequences of his torture while Hraichie would be ‘fed, bathed, looked after, roof over his head.
‘While I’m selling my assets because I’m broke and people rob me and police don’t want to do anything.
‘I’ve been stood over, persecuted, tortured.’
Before his sentencing, Hraichie wrote the Supreme Court Justice Peter Johnson a letter rejecting claims from his mother that her son felt remorse for what he’d done.
‘He has had ample time since 2015 to consider his position in custody,’ Justice Johnson said.
‘If anything, the offender’s attitude has hardened.’
Hraichie, above, sitting in the dock during his sentencing hearing
Hraichie carved ‘e4e’ – eye for an eye – into Michael O’Keefe’s forehead during his horrendous attack
The judge described Hraichie as a ‘sad, but dangerous criminal which place at risk persons who may be around him’.
Hraichie was sentenced to 34 years’ imprisonment with a non parole period of 29 years.
He will be 50 when he is eligible for parole. He reportedly cheered and repeatedly interrupted the judge as the sentence was handed down on Friday.
Earlier this year, Hraichie’s father told Daily Mail Australia Bourhan wasn’t a terrorist but a kid from a ‘good family’ who had been afforded every opportunity.
‘He got onto drugs, he started to steal, his addictions grew and look what happened,’ Mr Hraichie said.