A Sydney man accused of recruiting foreign fighters to battle the Syrian regime lost a court challenge on Thursday to the Australian law that he was charged with breaking.
Alqudsi is the first person to be charged under the law with recruiting foreign fighters for the five-year-old Syrian conflict. The law was replaced last year with tougher counter-terrorism legislation.
The New South Wales state Supreme Court judge on Thursday rejected Alqudsi’s application to have the charge dismissed and ruled that he should stand trial.
Phone intercepts
Prosecutors previously alleged that telephone intercepts recorded Alqudsi talking to some of the alleged recruits about fighting in Syria, and that he allegedly helped them join terrorist organisations fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Alqudsi’s lawyer Zali Burrows has argued that her client was giving only innocuous travel advice.
Alqudsi will return to court on Friday for a pre-trial hearing.
