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Sam McKeith

Bikie Zahed and brother to fight murder charge at trial

Months before his arrest, Tarek Zahed (pictured) survived a shooting that killed his brother Omar. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO)

Senior Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed and his brother will face a joint murder trial in February after pleading not guilty to murdering a man in Sydney's west in 2014.

Zahed, 43 and Abdul Kahir Zahed, 38, were formally arraigned on Friday at the NSW Supreme Court, where they also pleaded not guilty to kidnapping in company.

The charges relate to the alleged murder of 29-year-old Youssef Assoum, who died in hospital after being stabbed in the head and shot in the thigh at Bankstown in December 2014.

A third man has also been charged in relation to the alleged murder.

Friday's hearing was told the brothers, who appeared via audio-visual link from jail, would face a joint six-week trial, although proceedings could be split pending a defence application.

Justice Helen Wilson ordered that any application for a separate trial by Tarek Zahed be filed and served by September 29.

During the hearing, the judge was forced to mute Tarek Zahed's video link after he shouted about difficulties contacting his daughter and mother from the Goulburn supermax jail where he was held.

Justice Wilson listed the brothers' trial for February 5, 2024.

Only months before his arrest for the alleged murder, Tarek Zahed - who police say is a senior Comanchero - survived a shooting that killed his brother Omar, 39, in May 2022.

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