The High Court has ruled a five-year sentence handed to a Sydney man for taking up arms in Syria was reasonable despite the extreme unlikelihood of him being released on parole.
Fayez Hatahet admitted fighting with the Free Syrian Army against the al-Assad government, but he claimed he initially travelled to the country to free a brother-in-law he believed was being held captive there.
Hatahet pleaded guilty to engaging in hostile activity in a foreign state and was sentenced in December 2022 to a maximum of five years behind bars.
