An inquest has been told Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis told his lawyer he felt targeted by Customs officials for being Muslim, and blamed the September 11 terror attacks and Schapelle Corby's heavy sentencing for the way he was treated.

The inquest was also told Monis saw himself as a "noble victim" after claiming to receive death threats over offensive letters sent to the families of soldiers in 2010.

Amnesty International legal and governance manager Catherine Wood met with Monis in Sydney in 2010 and described their interaction to the inquest into the Martin Place siege today.

A coronial inquest is examining the life and actions of Man Haron Monis in the lead-up to the Martin Place siege. (AAP)

Amnesty International legal and governance manager Catherine Wood. (9NEWS)

"He was using the opportunity to stand on his soapbox and present a story of victimhood and persecution," she said.

Bizarrely, Monis refused to sit or talk to Ms Wood during the interview, instead giving his answers to her male assistant.

Ms Wood said Monis showed "a strong sense" of "delusional self-importance" - expressing outrage that he had written to the Queen and she had not replied in the time expected.

"I didn't enjoy the interview," she said.

Sydney siege victims Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson. (Supplied) (Supplied)

Ms Wood said Amnesty International refused to assist Mr Monis as his case did not satisfy its criteria for helping refugees.

Earlier, Monis's former solicitor said the gunman's mind was "churning" with a belief he was being "set up" by the Australian government.

Monis went by the name of Michael Hayson Mavros when he came to solicitor Franklin Arguedas in 2004.

After help with a motor vehicle matter, Monis began dictating letters alleging he was targeted by Customs officers when entering and leaving Sydney airport, Mr Arguedas said.

In an image tendered to the inquest, Monis can be seen in his bikie gear. (Supplied) (Supplied)

Even after meeting Customs officials who gave him a tour of their airport facilities and assured him he was not being targeted, his belief he was being "framed" by the government remained.

"It was something he would not elaborate on - it was something that was churning in his mind," Mr Arguedas said.

Mr Arguedas said he had lunch with Monis three times a month at a restaurant near his office in the Sydney suburb of Burwood but Monis would not come if he was wearing jeans and a shirt.

"He would have to go and dress up as a Muslim cleric, as an ayatollah," Mr Arguedas said.

Monis in hospital after collapsing in an apparent "psychotic episode". (Supplied) (Supplied)

The lawyer arranged a private Australian citizenship ceremony for Monis, who claimed that people from Afghanistan or Pakistan might see him at a public ceremony and "his life once again would be at risk".

Mr Arguedas detailed a number of interactions with Monis, including one where he proposed they make millions of dollars by turning over a person he knew of who was wanted by Israel, and another scheme whereby Monis would fly Mr Arguedas to Iran to tell his mother that he was OK.

Mr Arguedas said Monis dictated numerous letters to the Australian Customs and Border Protection service alleging he was targeted at Sydney airport.

At one point, Monis flew to New Zealand and back in a day to "bamboozle" Customs officers and "make people believe he was doing something" Mr Arguedas said.

In another letter, Monis dictated claims alleging Muslim clerics were being targeted in some way as retaliation for the 20-year jail term given to Schapelle Corby.

Monis and Noleen Pal on their wedding day in western dress. (Supplied) (Supplied)

Mr Arguedas said when he suggested Monis stop "writing stupid letters" and seek counselling, Monis got angry and asked him if he thought he was mad.

Mr Arguedas told junior counsel assisting Sophie Callan he thought Monis was harmless.

"He was trying to big-note himself somehow - demanding rather than earning respect," he said.

Earlier, the inquiry heard Monis claimed he had connections to Iran's ruling class when he worked as a shopping centre security guard in western Sydney.

Hassan Zoabi, who managed a shopping centre where Monis was given work as a security guard in 1996, said he was a well-spoken, neat man who was "impeccable" at his job.

Mr Zoabi said Monis - then called Mohammed Manteghi - worked for about two years at the centre and during their conversations he claimed he was "well-connected" to Iran's rulers, including that he was a son-in-law of one of the country's powerful men.

Monis drove a new-looking Mitsubishi Lancer that Mr Zoabi was jealous of - wondering how a new arrival to Australia could afford such a nice car.

The court heard Monis, a practising Shi'ite Muslim at that time, prayed five times daily during his work - praying in a tool room where he kept a prayer mat.

A disturbing portrait of Monis emerged as the inquest began yesterday, revealing a man craving recognition and success yet troubled by serious mental health issues.

The hearing is painstakingly and forensically examining Monis’ life to better understand the chain of events which culminated in 18 hostages being held at the Lindt Café in Martin Place on December 15, 2014.

“His constant goal in life seems to have been achieving significance,” Junior Assisting Counsel Sophie Callan said.

However, in the months and years leading up to the deadly siege, Monis appeared to have no money, property or religious following to his name.

The court heard Monis was rejected by the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang when he attempted to join, and new details about the shotgun used in the incident were revealed by the officer in charge of the investigation.

Martin Place siege gunman Man Monis, right, with a member of the Rebels motorcycle gang, during a club outing, in an image tendered to the siege inquest. (Supplied) (Supplied)

Some of the key facts to emerge include:

THE GUN

The NSW Police officer in charge of the critical incident investigation into the siege, Detective Inspector Angelo Memmolo, said the gun used in the attack was almost certainly illegally imported.

The La Salle pump action 12-gauge shotgun is believed to have been manufactured between 1959 and 1969 by French company Manufrance.

The barrel and butt of the weapon had been filed down and only three are legally registered in Australia, none of which were used in the siege.

BIKIE LINK

Monis attempted to inveigle himself with the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang in 2013.

He purchased a motorbike but was asked to leave the group after they deemed him “too weird” and self-absorbed.

The couple were also photographed in Islamic attire. (Supplied) (Supplied)

Photos from the period show Monis discarded his religious attire for leathers, posing with fellow members.

The hearing was told the group also confiscated his motorcycle when he was kicked out of the Mount Druitt and Ingleburn chapters.

MENTAL HEALTH

Monis was prescribed psychiatric medicine in 2005 for a “stress-induced major depressive disorder”.

In 2010, Monis collapsed in the street and was taken to hospital after a dizzy spell. Responding paramedics described the incident as “bizarre” and an apparent “psychotic episode”.

That same year, a doctor diagnosed Monis with high-functioning schizophrenia.

Man Haron Monis. (Supplied)

His psychiatrist will give evidence to the inquest later in the week.

Counsel Assisting Jeremy Gormly said the inquiry would hear from those close to Monis, though “few fall into that category”.

“Mr Monis appears to have led an isolated existence,” Mr Gormly said.

“Mr Monis unquestionably had at stages in his life some mental health issues, but I say at the outset, any such issues appear to be modest.

“Mental health issues may not provide a full explanation to his motivations for the siege.”

SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES

Monis staged a number of public protests in the mid-2000s. (AAP)

Monis was facing 43 aggravated and indecent assault charges when he was killed as the siege came to a bloody end.

He had established a clairvoyancy and spiritual healing business and was accused of assaulting his “vulnerable” female patients.

“His conduct extended from indecent touching under the guise of massage to full penetration,” Ms Callan said.

“When he was met with objection he turned to various levels of argument to overcome their resistance.

“The lower levels of argument suggested sexual energy was needed to overcome the black magic.”

He also suggested he would personally inflict curses on the women.

Ms Callan said the likelihood Monis would have been jailed had he gone to trial over the alleged assaults was “objectively high”.

Monis met future wife Noleen Pal when she visited him as a client at the clinic.

She was later allegedly murdered by Monis’ new partner Amirah Droudis, with Monis charged with being an accessory to her death before and after the fact.

Droudis was granted leave to appear at the hearing but later withdrew and will not give evidence.

Grieving relatives of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson visit the floral tribute to the two Sydney siege victims in Martin Place. (AAP) (AAP)

ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA

Monis arrived in Australia on a business visa in 1996, before immediately applying for a protection visa, claiming persecution in his home country over a self-published book of poetry.

"This was almost certainly a fiction he told to obtain refugee status,” Counsel Assisting Jeremy Gormly said.

The protection visa was granted in 2000 and he was awarded Australian citizenship in 2004 under the name of Michael Hayson Mavros.

FIREARMS TRAINING

Monis received firearms training in 1997 as part of his work as a security guard, but failed the revolver section of the course.

He undertook the course as sweeping gun control changes were being introduced in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.

He never held a formal gun licence in Australia. He applied for a license in 2012 for what he said were “security” reasons, but was refused on the grounds he was not a “fit and proper person”.

Ms Callan said hostage statements said Monis appeared to be inexperienced in operating the weapon used during the siege.

“He was clumsy trying to load the pump-action shotgun he brought to the siege and seemed unfamiliar with it,” Ms Callan said.

INCREASING RADICALISM

Monis sent letters to world leaders and international media demanding his daughters and first wife be released from house arrest in Iran.

Australian authorities have been unable to confirm the veracity of Monis’ claims, which were made to then-United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and US president Bill Clinton, among others.

He also chained himself to poles outside state parliament in Perth and Sydney in an attempt to draw attention to the apparent plight of his family in Iran.

The bizarre life of Sydney siege terrorist Man Haron Monis View Gallery

In 2006, Monis changed his name from Michael Hayson Mavros to Man Haron Monis and began calling himself Sheikh Haron.

He was convicted after sending threatening letters to the families of Australian soldiers who had been killed in Afghanistan.

BIZARRE CLAIMS

Monis claimed to have been a spy with Iranian intelligence and said he had visit CIA headquarters in the United States.

He appears to have become obsessed with Australian customs officials in 2004, accusing them of both discriminatory behaviour and of being too lax.

At one point, he seemed to have flown to New Zealand and boarded the next flight home to prove a point to authorities.

Mr Gormly said despite his shift towards radicalism, Monis remained diligent in filing all necessary government paperwork.

He filed tax returns and each time he changed his name in Australia completed application forms with notable accuracy.

“The contrast between compliance and illegality is a thread that runs through much of his story in Australia,” Mr Gormly said.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Born Mohammed Manteghi in the Iranian city of Borujerd, Monis was one of five children and raised in a Shiite Muslim family.

He graduated from university with a Masters in Islamic Culture and Political Science and appeared to have been a bright student.

The hearing was told Monis was indeed an Islamic religious scholar, though his claims to being equivalent to a bishop in Christianity seem to have been inflated.

Monis appeared to have been closer to a priest in ordained rank.

Monis began a Certificate III in IT and Digital Media at a Blacktown college in 2013 but did not complete his course.

A two-week session of hearings will begin a comprehensive inquiry into the deaths of victims Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson during the siege, which started on the morning of December 15, 2014.

Coroner Michael Barnes explained the key areas of Monis’ life and death the hearing sought to uncover.

“Was Monis a so-called lone wolf prosecuting an ISIS-inspired terrorist act?,” Mr Barnes said in his opening remarks.

“Or was he a deranged individual, pursuing a personal and private grievance in a public manner?”

The inquest will consider whether the siege was an act of terrorism and the implications it has for citizens going about their daily lives.

How Monis was granted bail while facing accessory to murder charges over his wife’s death will also be addressed.

The Coroner previously heard Monis shot dead cafe manager Tori Johnson, while barrister Katrina Dawson was killed by fragments of police gunfire.