From The Australian
AN accused terrorist was simply being a "barracker" for overseas Muslims when he criticised the lack of support being shown for Islamic "brothers" fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, his defence lawyer said today.
Greg Barns also conceded that comments made by his client Ezzit Raad about the 2005 London bombings, including that there should have been more victims, were "callous and appalling".
Political passion such as that displayed by Mr Raad, 26, in secretly recorded conversations and tapped telephone calls sometimes lead to such "shocking" comments.
Mr Barns told the Victorian Supreme Court that Mr Raad was trying to encourage fellow Australian Muslims to take a more active interest in what was happening in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya rather than "recruit terrorists". He said if Mr Raad had been a terrorist himself, he would have been urging violent jihad in Australia during the secretly recorded conversations. But at no point did he offer to do anything or obtain explosives or weapons, Mr Barns said.
Mr Barns said the jury might find it shocking that Mr Raad watched videos of hostages in Iraq being beheaded, but this was common amongst young Muslim men in Australia. Which doesn’t make it either right or decent.
Mr Raad has pleaded not guilty to knowingly being a member of a terrorist organisation and attempting to provide funds to it.
The trial before Justice Bernard Bongirono continues.