Lawyers for a Kurdish journalist accused of being a member of listed terrorist group the PKK have told a Sydney court he poses no threat to the Australian community.

Renas Lelikan was arrested by AFP officers last week and a bail hearing was told he has been threatened by other inmates in custody, over his vehement opposition to the Islamic State group.

Barrister Phillip Boulten SC said his client is in strict protection at Sydney's Silverwater prison.

Mr Boulten said Lelikan is "charged with being a member of an organisation which is no threat to the Australian community".

"He is no threat to the Australian community."

The court was told Lelikan accepted protection from Australia because he was in serious danger from the Islamic State group.

The 38-year-old returned to Australia last year but was refused a passport on security grounds.

"He's a genuine refugee in Australia," Mr Boulten said.

"It is an extraordinary case."

A large number of people from Sydney's Kurdish community came to court to support Lelikan.

Prosecutor describes case as 'substantial'

But Commonwealth prosecutor Imad Abdul-Karim opposed bail, describing the case against him as "substantial".

The PKK, also known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party, has been a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia since August 2005.

Mr Abdul-Karim said Lelikan was a "long-term supporter of the PKK and its ideology".

The court heard that in 2007, he was arrested and charged with terrorist financing.

Lelikan is accused of breaching his bail conditions and travelling to the Netherlands.

In 2011, he flew to the Kurdish region of Iraq, using a relative's passport.

He was arrested in France in his absence and charged with terrorist financing.

The evidence against Lelikan includes photographs of him, with some depicting him in uniform with a firearm.