Basem Salameh gave his sleeping mate a friendly pinch on the bottom.

It was not a hard or painful pinch, but Daniel Azar​ took offence at the perceived "homosexual advance", grew extremely angry and broke a window to leave Mr Salameh's Granville flat.

Ahmed Kaddour outside the NSW Supreme Court in 2016. Credit:Kirk Gilmour

At about 2am on August 14, 2013, Azar and two other friends, including Ahmed Kaddour , returned to the flat to confront Mr Salameh.

Azar and Kaddour used a pole, pieces of furniture and a screwdriver to beat and stab Mr Salameh, leaving him with severe head injuries and a ruptured eye. An unspent bullet was also found in his throat.