The recipients of a ranting former bikie boss's threatening and menacing phone calls may have reacted with "no more than a yawn", the seasoned ex-gangster's barrister has told a court.
But a prosecutor claims that is "nonsense", arguing it is clear the victims were fearful because the person on the other end of the phone was not "a normal suburban dad".
The lawyers made those comments in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday, when former Canberra Rebels president Ali Hassan Bilal, 50, appealed against the severity of his 13-month jail sentence.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker imposed that sentence, which was to be suspended after four months, in early August after Bilal pleaded guilty to five telecommunications charges.
Bilal, who is also a former national sergeant-at-arms of the Rebels, was running the outlaw motorcycle gang's ACT chapter at the time of his offending in 2021.
Police, who had the long-time bikie boss's phone tapped, listened in as he unleashed tirades at often confused victims, some of whom were lower-ranking members of the gang.
Bilal's barrister, John Purnell SC, challenged the Wollogorang resident's sentence on several grounds on Thursday.
One of his complaints centred on Ms Walker's conclusion that Bilal's victims had probably felt fear, saying there was "absolutely no evidence" to back this finding up.
"People can make very serious threats that might create no more than a yawn from the recipient," Mr Purnell said.
He also urged Justice Geoffrey Kennett to remember that none of the people on the receiving end had complained to police, who only knew about the offending because Bilal's calls were being recorded.
"The words meant nothing to these so-called victims at all," Mr Purnell said.
Crown prosecutor Trent Hickey rubbished this submission, labelling it "nonsense".
Mr Hickey pointed out that one victim had described being "scared" as the 50-year-old ranted and raved, while another had responded to an aggressive phone call by saying he was "bloody shitting myself".
The prosecutor added that outlaw motorcycle gang members were not the sort of people who took their problems to police, especially when they were the subject of a superior member's rage.
"Who's he going to turn to?" Mr Hickey asked, referring to one of Bilal's subordinate victims.
"Where's he going to go?"
Mr Hickey also said it was "common sense" to infer that people threatened by a "demanding" bikie boss would feel scared, saying the sentence might be considered harsh if Bilal was "a normal suburban dad".
"He's not. That's why the sentence is what it is," the prosecutor said.
Justice Kennett reserved his decision on the appeal, saying he would aim to deliver a judgment "reasonably swiftly" given Bilal was behind bars.
Should Bilal's appeal fail, he will be released from Canberra's jail in early December.
