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THE key witness in Australia’s biggest terrorist trial lived a life of luxury, communicated with birds and saw a she-devil, a court heard yesterday.

The witness, Izzydeen Atik of Newport, told the court on Tuesday the group’s alleged leader, Abdul Nacer Benbrika, told him the group planned to attack the 2005 AFL grand final at the MCG and Melbourne’s Crown Casino during the 2006 Grand Prix.

Mr Atik is a key witness in the trial of 12 men accused of being members of a terrorist organisation. All have pleaded not guilty.

Remy van de Wiel, QC, a lawyer for Benbrika, told the court of a psychiatric report in 2002 in which Mr Atik claimed that birds often told him their problems.

“If you spend a day with me you will see the birds follow me and talk to me,” Mr Atik told the psychiatrist who compiled the report.

Mr van de Wiel told the court the report quoted Mr Atik as saying: “I see another one, a girl, not human, a devil. She says she loves me [and] she won’t let me have a relationship. She scares me.”

But under cross-examination yesterday, Mr Atik told the jury he had no recollection of hearing the voice of the girl.

The jury heard Mr Atik lived a life of luxury, funded by credit card fraud while receiving a pension in 2003 and 2004.
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