Alleged terrorist boss Hamdi Alqudsi has proclaimed his innocence, saying he had nothing to do with planned attacks on Sydney locations including a naval base, courthouse and the mardi gras.
On Tuesday, Alqudsi's barrister Michael Finnane QC said his client's case was simple in that he did not do anything related to the terrorism charges brought against him.
"Hamdi Alqudsi puts himself before you as an innocent man," Mr Finnane told a NSW Supreme Court jury.
The Crown has accused Alqudsi of knowingly directing the activities of a Sydney terror group known as the Shura from August 30 to December 31, 2014. He has pleaded not guilty.
Mr Finnane said Alqudsi was involved in the Shura in 2013 when the group was focused on sending fighters to Syria to fight against President Bashar al-Assad.
Alqudsi, who was born in Palestine and came to Australia when he was eight, had no involvement with the Shura in 2014 and only met with members then for social occasions, the court heard.
He was also not responsible for the actions of other members of the Shura and any documents outlining the planned attacks were created by other individuals, the defence barrister said.
Two former Shura members, known only as OA and MM for legal reasons, were accused of lying in evidence against Alqudsi for their own benefit.
Also on Tuesday, crown prosecutor Trish McDonald SC concluded her opening submissions by outlining the planned attacks that Alqudsi allegedly was involved in during the latter half of 2014.
In one of these plans, discussed at a park next to the Georges River on December 14, 2014, involved hitting a courthouse in a targeted attack against the Australian Federal Police.
"During this conversation with the accused, the accused stated that he wanted to get the AFP bigtime," Ms McDonald said.
While the Shura initially focused on sending men from Australia to Syria in 2013, the group is alleged to have turned its attention to domestic terror acts after authorities prevented members from travelling overseas.
The jury heard that Alqudsi and many Shura members pleaded allegiance to Islamic State in a ceremony at Wattamolla Beach on August 31, 2014 and that IS accepted this pledge around two weeks later.
The Shura's contact in Syria, Mohammad Ali Baryalei, suggested in early September that the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras could be a target for a potential attack and said someone would be flying over from Syria to help the group create improvised explosive devices.
Baryalei also suggested that the Islamic State flag be perched someplace high up such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and that the Shura members could film themselves giving their allegiance to IS in this prominent location.
In a September 14 call between Alqudsi's alleged proxy Omarjan Azari and Baryalei, Baryalei suggested "finishing" random unbelievers such as tourists or backpackers which would make worldwide news.
"Here, the Americans send their planes and things like that to kill people. We want to send them a message that as you kill our people we will also kill your people one by one," Baryalei said.
In their plans, the group is alleged to have considered procuring weapons such as a shotgun and handgun, and determining how to use vehicles as a distraction when hitting the Garden Island naval base in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo.
At a meeting in mid-September 2014, the group was alleged to have used whiteboards to describe their potential terror plots without speaking so there was no permanent record of what had been discussed.
A notebook owned by Shura member Ali Al-Talebi detailing the Woolloomooloo plot, including whether they were going to kill navy personnel, was seized from his car during a police stop on December 14, 2014.
The trial in front of Justice Stephen Rothman continues.
