Legal professionals for Mustafa Dirani have requested a jury to place his “excessive beliefs” apart in judging if he was a part of a terrorist conspiracy that led to police accountant Curtis Cheng’s demise.
Mr Cheng was gunned down exterior the Parramatta police headquarters by radicalised 15-year-old Farhad Mohammad on October 2, 2015.
Mr Dirani is accused of consenting to plans to commit a terrorist assault in Australia in addition to an alternate cost of serving to provide the gun used to shoot Mr Cheng.
On the time of the alleged offences, Mr Dirani was 22 years previous.
He pleaded not responsible to fees of conspiring to do acts in preparation for a terrorist act and supplying a firearm.
In a trial that started this week, defence barrister Nathan Metal argued that Mr Dirani had no data of plans to hold out an assault being made by alleged co-conspirator Raban Alou.
“There’s no dispute that there was such a conspiracy but it surely’s in dispute that Mr Dirani was celebration to such a conspiracy,” Mr Metal mentioned.
In opposition to a background of the rising affect of ISIS globally in 2015, Mr Dirani allegedly shared materials supporting the group and graphic movies together with beheadings and mass killings.
These allegedly included lethal ISIS assaults in France and Tunisia and a beheading in Kuwait.
Mr Metal requested the jury to place any feelings and prejudices apart in figuring out Mr Dirani’s function within the assault on Mr Cheng.
“No matter Mr Dirani’s views or beliefs might have been, to be responsible of this offence he will need to have entered into an settlement (to hold out an assault),” Mr Metal mentioned.
“Put any prejudices or issues you may have in relation to individuals who maintain these views apart.”
The courtroom was additionally informed on Wednesday that Mr Dirani’s good friend and alleged co-conspirator Mr Alou had entered into an “Islamic” marriage with a lady beneath the age of 16, inflicting battle together with his family members who objected to it.
Mr Alou had moved out of his household house and right into a property to dwell with the lady, Mr Metal informed the courtroom.
Each males had been members of a WhatsApp group known as “The Bricks” who shared excessive Islamic materials, the courtroom was informed.
Mr Dirani at one level modified the group’s icon to a picture of an armed man and posted materials together with the decision to motion, “actual males are recognized in occasions of hardship”.
Crown prosecutor David Staehli SC famous that in figuring out Mr Dirani’s intentions, the jury must interpret the group’s language.
“The folks finishing up these acts don’t all the time use the phrase terrorism themselves,” Mr Staehli mentioned.
“They use phrases like jihad, preventing, demise and punishment.”
On the day of the taking pictures, police surveillance captured Mr Dirani attending a sequence of conferences with Mr Alou throughout which the gun used to shoot Mr Cheng was allegedly obtained from a 3rd celebration.
Mr Metal argued his shopper had no data of the character of the conferences and was not conscious {that a} firearm had been exchanged.
He argued that Mr Dirani had attended the conferences as a good friend of Mr Alou so the pair may get some meals collectively following a prayer session.
Mr Metal additionally put ahead that Mr Dirani didn’t know the shooter Farhad Mohammad and had by no means had any “dealings or interactions” with him.
“They went to the identical mosque however there’s no proof to recommend they knew one another,” he mentioned.
The trial continues.
Initially revealed as Mustafa Dirani’s ‘excessive beliefs’ laid naked in courtroom