Commonwealth loses Succarieh appeal in Qld

Commonwealth prosecutors have lost an appeal seeking a harsher punishment for a Brisbane Islamic bookshop owner jailed for sending money to foreign fighters in Syria.

Omar Succarieh was sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment in November after he pleaded guilty to four foreign incursion offences.

It came after the 34-year-old covertly sent more than $57,000 to his brother Abraham Succarieh and three other men who were fighting against Assad regime forces in Syria.

Succarieh also gave $7700 to an Australian-born citizen of Albanian descent and Muslim Sunni faith to travel overseas in an alleged attempt to join the fight.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions launched an appeal against the imposed punishment, claiming it was "manifestly inadequate" and Succarieh's prospects of rehabilitation were not properly considered.

But the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on Friday.

Succarieh himself was also denied leave to appeal his sentence, which he had sought to argue was excessive.

Commonwealth DPP Sarah McNaughton SC told a hearing in January Succarieh's apparent lack of remorse meant there could be no confidence he had changed and would consider the Australian community as being above religion.

"He really has failed to properly acknowledge that he knew at the time that the activities were criminal," Ms McNaughton said.

But the appeal judgment found Supreme Court Justice Roslyn Atkinson had taken pains to properly assess the "objective criminality" of Succarieh's conduct.