Sydney ISIS recruiter Alqudsi found guilty on six charges
A jury has found Hamdi Alqudsi guilty of recruiting six foreign fighters to join armed conflicts in Syria.
A seventh charge is still being deliberated at the NSW Supreme Court.
Alqudsi's trial heard numerous intercepted conversations discussing flights, border crossings, life after death and the "mujahideen".
His defence lawyer argued the men were not headed to the Middle East as militant jihadis, but as humanitarians and soccer players.
The court was shown a suitcase of "jihadi literature" found at one of the Sydney homes Alqudsi shared with one of his two wives.
"The articles are about jihad and 39 ways to participate in it," crown prosecutor David Staehli SC said.
Photos of men with guns, ASIO information about a cancelled passport and a document from DFAT were also discovered.
But defence barrister Scott Corish told the jury they must be sure that Alqudsi had performed services with the intention of arranging for the men to travel to engage in armed hostilities.
"Does ringing someone up overseas and saying something like 'You have to get a taxi you idiot' - is that a service?" he said as he summed up his case.
Mr Corish also questioned whether discussing money exchanges and accommodation was providing a service, adding just because his client had intended for men to travel to northern Syria did not mean he meant for them to join the ongoing conflict.
Mr Corish said his client tried to arrange $10,000 to smuggle 20 families from Aleppo to Gaziantep, in southern Turkey, before expected bombing raids by the Syrian government and associated forces.
"We are trying to save as many people as possible," the 42-year-old said in one conversation intercepted in September 2013, Mr Corish told the court.
"Is that engaging in hostilities?" he asked the jury.
Earlier on Thursday the crown finished its closing address and said Alqudsi had been discussing the prices of AK 47s, handguns, swords, knives and grenades.
"They aren't talking about playing (video game) Grand Theft Auto. They are talking about playing ... jihad in Syria," crown prosecutor David Staehli SC said during the trial.
More to come.
