Sepehr Saryazdi: CSIRO PhD candidate charged over alleged terror plot planned for Gold Coast on Australia Day

A PhD student with the CSIRO has been charged over an alleged terror plot planned for Australia Day celebrations on the Gold Coast.

Sepehr Saryazdi, 24, was denied bail when he faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday on one count of other acts done in preparation for, or planning, terrorist acts.

He was arrested by detectives from the counter-terrorism investigation group on Wednesday after a report from the public was made to Crime Stoppers, prompting police to investigate.

During his court appearance, Commonwealth prosecutor Ellie McDonald told the court the alleged offending related to “extremely concerning” Facebook Messenger chats within a private group containing more than 50 people, ABC reports.

“The defendant had plans to lead a riot on the Gold Coast on Australia Day and those plans involved the use of Molotov cocktails, which he had purchased supplies and equipment for,” she told the court.

He allegedly also encouraged others to do the same.

“He says: ‘I will be leading the Gold Coast riots on Jan 26 if you guys know people in Melbourne, let them know so they can start buying vodka bottles early to stockpile in batches’,” she said.

“He also states: ‘if arrested the key is to stay calm and collected, when put into questioning remind them what you did is purely logical given the current trajectory of this nation.’

“I recommend learning how to shoot guns at shooting ranges while you can,” he allegedly said on Facebook.

He bought bottles of alcohol, wrapping paper and a blanket between January 4 and 9 in preparation for the attack, according to court documents obtained by AAP.

Mr Saryazdi, who describes himself as a PhD candidate with the CSIRO data and digital specialist arm and Australian Centre for Robotics, allegedly said he expected to die during the Gold Coast attack unless he was killed or lobotomised by Australia’s spy agency ASIO.

Mr Saryazdi’s defence lawyer Hellen Shilton told the court he was an academic who had moved from Sydney to Brisbane for his career with the CSIRO but had become isolated and “became influenced a bit by the new people he was associating with”.

“He admits he became quite overwhelmed emotionally. He felt he should do something with the way the world was going ... it was never his intention to hurt anyone.”

Magistrate Penelope Hay denied his application for bail, finding the risk of serious injury to multiple people was too high.

In a statement, Queensland police reassured the community that there are no known ongoing direct threats to the community or any upcoming events.

“It is not alleged that a specific group was the target of the alleged planned acts of violence,” the statement reads.

“The safety and security of our communities remain the Service’s highest priority.

“The QPS continues to work in close collaboration with our federal and state counterparts to ensure the safety of all Queenslanders.”

Mr Saryazdi’s case is due to return to court on February 20.

A spokesperson for CSIRO told The Nightly that the organisation was aware of charges against Mr Saryazdi..

“As the matter is now before the courts, it is not appropriate to provide further comment. CSIRO will cooperate with authorities in any investigations.”

Anyone with information about possible threats to the community is urged to phone the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400.

— with AAP