(Age) A terror plotter has been depicted by his lawyer as “a simple soul” who made a mistake getting involved in a plan to gun down people in Melbourne and lacked commitment to his cause.
Brothers Samed and Ertunc Eriklioglu and friend Hanifi Halis conspired in November 2018 and began preparations to launch a terror attack in the name of radical Islam, paying a $450 deposit for a .22 semi-automatic assault rifle.
The County Court has heard the trio drew inspiration from the Bourke Street attack on November 9 of that year, when Hassan Khalif Shire Ali stabbed and killed restaurateur Sisto Malaspina and injured two others. Shire Ali was fatally shot by police.
