The former bikie boss at the centre of the infamous 2009 Sydney Airport brawl should not spend another day in jail over the crime, his barrister has told a Sydney court.
In November 2011, Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi was found guilty of murdering bitter rival Anthony Zervas, 29, who was bludgeoned with a bollard and stabbed in the chest and abdomen in the departure hall on March 22, 2009.
Hawi, the then national president of the Comanchero motorcycle gang, was sentenced to a maximum of 28 years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 years.
But, earlier this year, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal set aside the conviction and Hawi was subsequently allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Hawi was released on bail is now being sentenced for manslaughter.
In a sentencing hearing on Friday, Hawi's barrister, Brett Walker, SC, told the NSW Supreme Court that his client had already spent nearly five years in custody following his murder conviction and serving any further jail time would be "an injustice".
He said the "orthodox" course of backdating a prisoner's sentence to include time already served should be abandoned in Hawi's case because even if, following this calculation, the 34-year-old was immediately found to be eligible for parole, he would have to wait months for a parole hearing.
"To do this would provide a superficial appearance of justice but would in fact depart from it because it would be excessive," Mr Walker said.
Instead he put forward a range of more unusual options so that Hawi would remain under supervision in the community until his parole conditions could be determined.
To follow the normal approach, he said, would be to bow to "meretricious headlines" and "mindless statistics".
But the Crown prosecutor, Helen Roberts, argued that Hawi should return to jail, at least for a short period.
She said that, while the 34-year-old was no longer the president of the Commonchero, he had continued to receive visits from fellow members of the gang while in custody.
She also said that the severity of the offence was increased by the fact that it involved a large group of men attacking each other in a public place.
"That was what made the violence seem so frightening and severe to the innocent bystanders," Ms Roberts said.
She said that Hawi was aware, as club president, of the importance of "hierarchy" and "loyalty" within the Comanchero, and that once he became involved in the brawl, serious violence was likely to result.
But Mr Walker said his client "should not be punished for being the president of the Commanchero" and that Hawi himself had been stabbed with a pair of scissors during the brawl.
He tendered an affidavit from Hawi's wife claiming that the former bikie boss had indicated he wanted nothing more to do with the club.
However, he noted that leaving such a group once someone had joined could be "difficult" and "dangerous".
Justice Clifton Hoeben reserved his decision until February 3 next year.
