Muslim woman refuses to stand for judge

MUSLIM woman Moutia Elzahed, who refused to take off her veil to give evidence in court, has been warned she may be charged with contempt because she also refuses to stand for the Judge.

Moutia Elzahed won't take her hijab off in court.

• Commonsense judge put foot down over burqa
• Magistrates could follow path set by District Court

A MUSLIM woman who refused to take off her veil to give evidence in court has been warned she may be charged with contempt because she also refuses to stand for the Judge.

Moutia Elzahed the second “wife” of convicted IS recruiter Hamdi Alqudsi caused controversy last week when she refused to take off her veil to give evidence in a civil case where she is suing the police over a terrorism raid of her home in 2014.

Judge Audrey Balla stopped Ms Elzahed from giving evidence saying she needed to see her face to assess her credibility.

This morning Judge Balla challenged her barrister Clive Evatt on why Ms Elzahed would not stand for her, in accordance with court protocol, each time she entered and left the bench.

Defence Attorney for Moutia Elzaheds, Clive Evatt. Picture: Adam Taylor

“I noticed on Wednesday and I see again today that the first plaintiff (Ms Elzahed) does not stand when I come onto the bench and when I leave the bench, is there a reason?” Judge Balla asked.

Mr Evatt replied, “according to my instructions she won’t stand for anyone except Allah, which I’m not particularly happy with.”

Judge Balla told Mr Evatt that his client should be made aware that she could be charged under new changes to contempt of court laws which have made it easier to prosecute people who refused to stand in court.

“It won’t (the decision) be made by me but will be made by others,” Judge Balla said.

“I just wanted to check that she had received advice.”

She won’t show her face in court, or stand for the judge.

Judge Balla said each time Ms Elzahed refused to stand could be considered a separate offence.

Last week Judge Balla refused to hear evidence from Ms Elzahed because she would not show her face while men were in the court.

Ms Elzahed is the second wife of convicted IS recruiter Hamdi Alqudsi, whose other wife Carnita Matthews has had her own very public fight with the law over her veil.

Ms Elzahed, Alqudsi and her two teenage sons are suing the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of New South Wales for assault and battery during the Operation Appleby counter-terrorism raids on September 18, 2014.

The court transcript revealed that Ms Elzahed instructed her barrister Clive Evatt to request that she keep her veil on while giving evidence or, alternatively, that all the men in the courtroom look away.

“There is a slightly unusual religious problem,” Mr Evatt said.

“She can show her face to women but not men. What I suggest is that she gets in the witness box, reveals her face to your Honour and any other woman in the court and the men look the other way.”

“I don’t know if I am happy with that,” Judge Balla replied, “Are you proposing that she would have her face covered while she is giving evidence and being cross-examined?”

“I’m afraid so. Yes. It is not very satisfactory, your Honour, but it is something we have to live with,” Mr Evatt said.

“It is not something I have to live with,” Judge Balla replied.

Judge Balla tried to find a compromise by offering to close the court to the public or allow Ms Elzahed to give evidence in another room that would be transmitted by an audiovisual link.

But Judge Balla insisted she still show her face while being examined and cross-examined by the three male barristers stating she “had to be fair to all parties” and she needed to see her face, “to assess her credibility.”

Since the raid, Alqudsi has faced a trial and been convicted of helping seven men travel to Syria to fight with Islamist rebels, including Islamic State in the civil war.

He is serving a sentence of eight years with a non-parole period of six years.

His other wife Carnita Matthews was found guilty in 2010 of falsely accusing a police officer of ripping off her burqa during a traffic stop.

That conviction was quashed on appeal the following year when District Judge Clive Jeffreys ruled there was no way of knowing who had been the woman under the burqa was the false allegations were made.

Ms Elzahed’s civil case continues.

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