AN American prisoner today testified he met French terrorist suspect Willie Brigitte, an alleged associate of accused Sydney terrorist Faheem Khalid Lodhi, while training for jihad in Pakistan. Yong Ki Kwon was giving evidence to Sydney's Central Local Court via video link from the US. Lodhi, a 34-year-old architect from Punchbowl, faces nine charges after allegedly plotting to bomb the National Electricity Group and several Sydney defence sites.The prosecution in his committal hearing has alleged Lodhi trained with banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba and acted as Brigitte's local contact. Kwon, who is serving an 11-year sentence in Virginia, today told the court he met Brigitte at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in late 2001. "He went under the name Sala Hudin," the 29-year-old told the court. "I remember him telling me he used to live in France and that all his Muslim brothers had left France."
He said Brigitte was impatient to train and just wanted to be sent to fight for jihad. "I remember him telling me there was only one Sheik and that's Osama Bin Laden," said Kwon under questioning from prosecutor Geoffrey Bellew. Kwon, a Korean American, said he'd met another Australian by the name of Abu Asad while training in combat and weaponry at the camp. However, he had never met Lodhi, he said. Defence lawyer Philip Boulten, SC, attempted to discredit the witness, telling the court Kwon had lied in the past to help the case. Mr Boulten said while under questioning from FBI agents Kwon "just told them a pack of lies". The witness admitted to the court he had previously improvised effects and "made stuff up". Kwon also admitted he had later plea bargained with the FBI by pleading guilty to lesser charges for acting as a witness in other cases. He admitted hoping by giving evidence in Lodhi's case and several other international cases he could get his sentence further reduced.