Omar Saghir was found guilty last year of six counts of intentionally advocating terrorism after posting eight video speeches to a public Facebook page between 2019 and 2020. The videos, which concerned the civil war in Syria, included calls to "attack" enemies and to "destroy their houses, trades and airports". He was also convicted of helping fund an overseas fighter who travelled to Syria in 2013.
At his trial in Brisbane, Saghir admitted uploading the speeches. His defence lawyer argued they were an "emotional outburst" rather than an attempt to encourage terrorism. In one recording, Saghir repeatedly said "attack them, yes attack them".
Judge Vicki Loury KC sentenced Saghir to two years and six months imprisonment for three terror charges, 18 months for the remaining three, and six months for the funding offence, all to be served concurrently, resulting in a total of two-and-a-half years.
Saghir appealed, arguing the trial judge had failed to give the jury a particular direction, which he claimed constituted a miscarriage of justice. In a judgement handed down today, appeal justices Debra Mullins AO, John Bond and Peter Davis dismissed the bid, stating the omission would not have affected the jury's decision and that "the trial was not unfair".