A Melbourne man who admitted setting two bushfires while declaring civilians would be “tasted by the fire of Allah” has been found not guilty of attempting to commit terrorist acts.
But jurors found Aran Sherani guilty of doing acts in preparation for or planning of a terrorist act, after he admitted filming himself pledging allegiance to Islamic State while armed with a knife and bragging about being on the run from police.
“I’m currently on the run from police,” he said in footage filmed in 2021.
“I slipped away and by the will of Allah I was able to even go to a shop nearby my home and get this,” he said, holding up a knife to the camera.
He said he would pursue revenge for Muslims and that the video was a pledge of allegiance.
“I pledge allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” he declared.
Aran Sherani had earlier pleaded guilty in front of the jury to being a member of a terrorist organisation.
The then-19-year-old was even saying things a “real terrorist” would say, his barrister Pat Doyle told jurors in Sherani’s Victorian Supreme Court trial.
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His older brother, Ari Sherani, who admitted filming one of the videos, was acquitted of a single charge of attempting to commit a terrorist act.
Their lawyers denied the pair were terrorists or ever intended to be terrorists.
Doyle claimed Aran Sherani, who is ethnically Kurdish and identifies with the historically oppressed and stateless people, thought filming the pledge video would help him be able to travel overseas to fight with the people of Kurdistan.
“It’s the defence case that what Aran Sherani wanted to do was send the videos to people that he believed were members of the Islamic State group and… his purpose in doing that was that they would help him go overseas to fight,” he told jurors.
“To fight, in particular, with the people of Kurdistan.”
Ari Sherani was immediately freed from custody.
Aran Sherani will face a pre-sentence hearing at a later date.
