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The ringleader of a network that helped young Australian men fight for Islamic extremists in the Middle East has broken down in court, sobbing "we are not terrorists man, we love Australia, we are Australians".
Giving evidence for the first time, south-western Sydney man Hamdi Alqudsi described his role as a "caring big brother", but said he did not know what had happened to the men, at least two of whom died fighting, that he helped join Syria's brutal civil war.
Alqudsi, 42, was last month found guilty by a jury of seven counts of providing services with the intention of supporting hostile acts in Syria between June and October 2013.
His key contact in Syria was prolific recruiter Mohammad Ali Baryalei, the Kings Cross bouncer and Underbelly extra who would become known as Australia's most senior member of Islamic State and who is now believed to have died.
At a sentencing hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, Alqudsi wept as he talked about how he had been classified as a terrorist and "placed in a cage" in prison.
"I love Australia. I always have. I sit down with my children and I teach them how to sing Waltzing Matilda," Alqudsi, who had about a dozen supporters in court, said.
"I'm not a terrorist, man, and I've been placed with terrorist people in that jail ... It's not fair what's happening to me at the moment even though I broke the law, man. I am put with terrorists who threaten the safety of our country. I am classified as them."
Although he pleaded not guilty to the charges, Alqudsi admitted during the hearing that he knew the men were going to Syria to fight, but said it was part of a "humanitarian mission" to defend unarmed civilians.
"They were going to go and get trained on how to use arms, weapons and how to help and defend the people of Syria," Mr Alqudsi said.
Mr Alqudsi said he had never encouraged the men to go to Syria and each had approached him saying they wanted to defend civilians against the Syrian government.
"As an Australian I should have minded my own business," Mr Alqudsi said.
"I should have told them, 'No, I can't help you with that' and that's something I regret at the moment and I will regret for the rest of my life and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I am really, really sorry for what I have done."
When asked if he knew what happened to the men or if he had any interest in finding out, Alqudsi replied: "No".
"After I woke up from this nightmare I don't have nothing to do with it," he said.
Six of the men Alqudsi aided – Tyler Casey, Caner Temel, Mehmet Biber, Nassim Elbahsa, Muhammad Abdul-Karim Musleh and a man known as Abu Alim – are believed to have entered Syria. Amin Mohamed was stopped at Brisbane's international airport and his passport cancelled when he tried to leave for Syria.
At least two of the men – Casey and Temel – died fighting for rival terrorist organisations less than a year after they arrived in Syria.
Two others, Mr Biber and Mr Musleh, have returned to Australia, while the fates of Mr Elbahsa and Mr Abu Alim are not known.
Mr Alqudisi said he had met the men in various ways including while he was studying a Bachelor of Islamic Studies, and at a mosque in Bankstown.
He told the hearing he first met Casey while he was at court supporting his wife Carnita Matthews, who attracted media attention when she was sentenced to six months' jail for falsely accusing a police officer of trying to rip off her veil during a random breath test in 2010, but successfully appealed the conviction.
Justice Christine Adamson said she found it "surprising" that Alqudsi had not inquired about what happened to the men and said he still seemed to be "the hero of his own story".
"Do I believe this man when he says he is sorry? Is this genuine contrition or are these crocodile tears?," Justice Adamson said.
Alqudsi is due to be sentenced next Thursday.
Mehmet Biber Also known as: Abu Abdul MalikA western Sydney resident, Biber allegedly left Australia in July 2013, before making his way to Turkey's Bab Al-Hawa border and crossing into Syria. Earlier this year Fairfax Media revealed that Biber had returned to Australia, although he has claimed he did nothing wrong in the Middle East and returned home just weeks after he allegedly left.
Muhammad Abdul-Karim Musleh Also known as: Abu HassanMusleh allegedly left Australia in mid 2013, crossing the Turkish border into Syria alongside Casey, Temel and Biber. He arrived back in Australia about 10 days later, with Alqudsi describing his return as a "catastrophe" in an intercepted phone call played to the court.
Abu Alim Abu Alim, whose real name is not known, told Alqudsi that he had crossed the border into Syria in July 2013. "When we were crossing the border, I mean, there were gunshots and, praise be to Allah, on top of us and it was beautiful," he said in an intercepted phone call played to the court. The fate of Abu Alim is not known.
Amin Mohamed Also known as: Abu BilalA New Zealand citizen who had been living in Melbourne, Mohamed was charged after he was stopped at Brisbane international airport in September 2013. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of preparing to enter a foreign state to engage in hostile activities, saying that he wanted to move to Syria to help people. He was found guilty by a Supreme Court jury in October 2015, and is being held in an immigration detention centre until his expected sentencing hearing later this year.
Nassim Elbahsa Also known as: Abu BakrThe whereabouts of Elbahsa are not known. The court heard that Alqudsi received a picture of Elbahsa and Biber together in October 2013. Biber, who sent the image, referred to Elbahsa as the "brother u sent to us jst now" and said he was considering bringing his family over to join him. "Ye he gna try n get all of them to come God willing ... They dnt have any issues with muhajireen bringing family here," Biber wrote.
