Melbourne terror cell leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika appeal fails

Abdul Nacer Benbrika has spent 15 years behind bars. Photo / Supplied

A terrorist who once professed admiration for Osama bin Laden failed to overturn a court decision keeping him behind bars for longer.

Abdul Nacer Benbrika has spent 15 years behind bars after he was found guilty and jailed for being the leader of Australia's largest terrorist network and was due to be released last year.

But lawyers for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton argued to keep him in jail until 2023 under a continuing detention order.

A Victorian Supreme Court judge found Benbrika an unacceptable risk to the community and said he had not denounced violent jihad.

"It's the unanimous view of the court that this appeal should be dismissed," the Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday.

Benbrika was first arrested in 2005 as one of more than a dozen people caught up with Operation Pendennis, one of the country's largest counter-terrorism investigations.

The terror leader was a known supporter of bin Laden and was described as the "guiding light" of the terror network.