A Queensland man turned foreign fighter in Syria was “not a member of a terrorist organisation” but fought in “extremely vicious” battles alongside these groups because they “had the same goal”, a court has heard.
Key points:
- Crown prosecutor Ben Power KC told the court Ajazi was not a member of any specific terrorist group
- The court heard Ajazi was a “prolific” user of social media and joked about the execution of prisoners
- His sentence was adjourned and he has ben remanded in custody
Agim Ajazi faced a sentencing hearing in Brisbane on Thursday after pleading guilty to three charges including advocating terrorism and engaging in hostile activities in a foreign country late last year.
The Supreme Court heard Ajazi travelled to Turkey with his family in mid-2013, and then used that country as a base to “go back and forth” across the border into Syria from early 2014.
Crown prosecutor Ben Power KC told the court he was an infantry soldier who actively engaged in “extremely vicious” battles against the Syrian government and its allies for two years.
Mr Power said these conflicts were “cruel” in nature and resulted in hundreds of deaths.
“His intention … was to overthrow the Syrian government by force,” he said.
“The rationale … was to establish a state government by Sharia Law.”
Mr Power told the court Ajazi was not a member of any specific group, but the people he was fighting alongside “had that same goal”.
“It’s accepted … that he was not a member of a proscribed terrorist organisation,” he said.
Social media posts made jokes about beheadings
The court heard Ajazi was a “prolific” user of social media and during this time he made a number of posts about the execution of prisoners who were captured during battle.
Some of the posts were read to the court and one included a joke about having their “head chopped off” and in another, he said “just want to impale” all the Islamic non-believers.
Despite these comments, Mr Power said Ajazi is not accused of the “ill treatment” of anyone held captive.
“It is not said that the defendant executed any prisoners,” he said.
The court heard Ajazi also advocated online for Americans to “utilise their freedom to obtain weapons” and in posts urged his “brothers in the West” to “behead those Russian scumbags” and to go to the Russian consulate and “start blasting”.
His defence lawyer Glen Rice KC told the court his client, “doesn’t blame anyone else” for his offending, but explained he started developing a “different world view” after becoming involved with a strict practising Muslim group.
“Over time he came to learn and accept strict Muslim practices from their example,” he said.
From there Mr Rice said Ajazi formed an “extremist” outlook after accessing content online and was “particularly motivated by images and videos” that he perceived as an “injustice” in Syria.
“He was someone who felt it was his duty to right that wrong,” he said.
Mr Rice said Ajazi had not engaged in any terrorist acts in Australia or overseas, and the “small group” he was aligned with were only associated with terrorist organisations by “an arrangement of convenience”.
“The groups would act together because it strengthened the opposition toward the government forces,” he said.
Supreme Court Justice Susan Brown adjourned Ajazi’s sentence and he was remanded in custody until a later date.