Court hears terror suspect tortured in Pakistan
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Thomas has pleaded not guilty to the charges. (AAP: Julian Smith, file photo)
A court has heard a Melbourne man accused of accepting cash from Al Qaeda was tortured when he was arrested in Pakistan.
It is alleged Werribee man Joseph Terrence Thomas accepted cash and a plane ticket from Al Qaeda, while he was in Pakistan in late 2002 and early 2003.
Thomas has pleaded not guilty to charges of knowingly receiving funds from a terrorist organisation, and possessing a falsified passport.
The court heard Thomas was choked and suffocated, and threatened with execution.
His defence lawyer told the jury his client was held for six months without charge in Pakistan where he was hooded and handcuffed, and chained to the bars of his cell
He told the jury Thomas' treatment was witnessed by Americans.
The court heard Thomas told a journalist he had trained with the Taliban, and believed the money came from Taliban sympathisers.
