http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/struggle-for-terror-raid-families/2005/12/03/1133422148097.htmlThe families of the eight Sydney men arrested on terrorist charges are struggling to feed their children and having to apply for welfare to survive. At least one family has had its bank accounts frozen.
One of the wives of the arrested men told The Sun-Herald she had “no money” and would be forced to sell the family car to meet her husband’s tax bill.
She will meet with Centrelink this week to discuss her entitlements.
“My husband made enough money to support me and his parents,” she said on condition of anonymity. “Now I have no money.”
The woman, who is expecting the couple’s first child, said she has been allowed to see her husband three times a week. “We go to see him in jail and when we can’t see him he will call us. They [police] have been very good to us and let us spend time with him.”
Several women have been forced to re-apply for welfare benefits because their husbands are no longer living with them.
A Centrelink spokesman refused to comment on the individual cases but said it is common practice to re-evaluate a family’s entitlements if their circumstances had changed. “Centrelink will not cease payments completely but will need to re-test the family’s eligibility,” he said.
Adam Houda, the lawyer representing the eight Sydney men charged with terrorist activities, said the families had been under tremendous strain since the men were arrested three weeks ago.
“Most of these people are very poor and of modest means and have children,” he said. “In one case there is a disabled child and the father was the primary carer of the child. One family had their bank account frozen which meant the wife could not get access to money to buy food and pay rent.
“We are going to make an official complaint about that to try and get the money released for the family.”
Mr Houda said the eight men were given the highest classification as AA prisoners and four of them are now in the state’s highest security prison, Supermax, inside Goulburn jail.
Some families are still waiting for approval to visit and Mr Houda will appeal against the custodial restrictions when their case is mentioned in court on Dec 5.