A court has heard that a New Zealand man standing trial in Melbourne for trying to travel to Syria and fight against that country's government told Wellington officials he was travelling to see his fiancé for the first time in Denmark.
Amin Mohamed, 25, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of making preparations to travel to a foreign country and engage in hostile activities.
Prosecutors have told the Victorian Supreme Court that Mr Mohamed applied for a New Zealand passport, and booked a plane ticket to Istanbul.
Herald Sun reporter Shannon Deery, who is covering the trial, said prosecutors were partly relying on phone taps.
"They say that the series of coded conversations that are picked up in these intercepted calls prove Mr Mohamed wasn't going overseas to visit his fiancee, which is what he told New Zealand passport authorities just before his arrest, after his passport was cancelled," he said.
"He told other people that he was going overseas with his mum, who was dying, and he wanted to take her home to die, to her home country.
"So basically - there's conflicting stories there - which the prosecution say goes to help towards proving their case."
Mr Mohamed is reported to have attended Lynfield College and graduated from AUT.
