Arsalan Tariq Khawaja, the brother of Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja was sentenced by an Australian court for plotting to brand Sri Lankan Mohamed Nizamdeen a terrorist, trying to frame him for an offence he had not done.
Arsalan Khawaja scrawled blueprints about killing prominent politicians and attacking Sydney landmarks in a notepad he stole from the budding IT business analyst Mohamed Nizamdeen.
Nizamdeen was charged with terror offences, grilled by detectives for hours without a lawyer, and spent four weeks in Goulburn Supermax before his charges were dropped.
Nizamdeen returned to Sri Lanka after the ordeal. He said his life was ruined because of this incident and called for an independent inquiry.
Khawaja was arrested and charged in late 2018 after a handwriting expert couldn't conclusively prove the plans had been written by Nizamdeen. He pleaded guilty last November to perverting the course of justice and dishonestly influencing a Commonwealth public official, and also admitted to forgery and inducing a witness to give false testimony.
Khawaja, 40, was driven by jealousy over Mohamed Nizamdeen's friendship with a woman.
Arsalan Tariq Khawaja was issued a non-parole period of two years and six months but could walk free from prison in June next year due to time served.
