A Melbourne teenager planned an Anzac Day terrorist attack in an “immature response” to the death of his friend who was shot by police, a court has heard.

Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, has pleaded guilty to doing an act in preparation or planning for a terrorist attack over the plot to run over and behead a police officer at an Anzac Day march in 2015.

He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Besim discussed the terrorism plot over an encrypted smartphone messenger app with a teenager in the UK, who is serving five years prison for his part in planning the attack.

Sevdet Ramdan Besim faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Photo: Facebook.

Besim’s defence lawyer, George Georgiou SC, told a pre-sentencing hearing, the then 18-year-old planned the act in an “immature response” to the death of his friend, Numan Haider, who was shot dead by police in September 2014.

“He was greatly affected by Mr Haider’s death. It’s not an insignificant matter in the context of the matter before the court,” Mr Georgiou said.

Haider stabbed two police officers outside Endeavour Hills police station before being gunned down.

Mr Georgiou told the court Besim was “young and impressionable” and had been exposed to people with extremist views at the age of 15 or 16.

He said the teenager had never suffered a loss before Haider’s death and that, coupled with his radical views, led to the planning of an attack.

“We would ask that your honour assess his criminality on the basis of him being a young offender who lacked sufficient maturity to adjudge intellectually and discern that which he was being fed by the extremists,” Mr Georgiou said.

But Besim denied he ever pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group as alleged by the prosecution.

Prosecution calls on Besim to prove de-radicalisation

A psychologist’s report tendered to the court showed Besim had “now commenced a de-radicalisation program and disavows any commitment to violence”.

But prosecutor Jeremy Rapke QC said Justice Michael Croucher should not give any weight to the report in sentencing as “self serving statements aren’t evidence until tested”.

He called on Besim to take the stand and give evidence as to his de-radicalisation.

“In this case one would imagine the only acceptable evidence would be evidence from the maker of the statement, namely Mr Besim,” Mr Rapke said.

“One can’t imagine it being proven any other way.”

Mr Rapke told the court Besim’s offending fell in the upper end of the spectrum for the offence of planning to carry out a terrorism attack.

“We acknowledge a sentence in this area is very difficult,” he said.

The court was also told despite his offence, his family continued to support him and visited him in prison.

The hearing continues.

– ABC