Eidan Havas: Criminal lawyer cleared of assault charges against his ex-partner
Salim Mehajer’s former lawyer has been found not guilty of assault charges against his ex-girlfriend after the court accepted he was acting in self-defence. A man walking his dog outside his Waterloo home called police to report what he allegedly saw through the window.
Central Sydney
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A criminal lawyer has been cleared of assault charges against his ex-partner after his claim of self-defence was accepted by the court.
Former solicitor for Salim Mehajer, Eidan Havas, was accused last year of slapping and punching his then 13-month partner after an argument erupted in which they both say they threatened to end the relationship.
Police were responding to a triple-0 call, in which a man walking his dog said he saw, through the window of Havas’ Waterloo home, a woman being slapped.
Three of the four police officers who attended the call said they saw, through the window or as they entered the bedroom, a man swinging his arms towards someone but could not say whether he struck the woman or what the woman was doing at the time.
Havas, 37, was straddling his partner on the bed, “flailing” his arms about, police alleged, when they stormed into the bedroom and handcuffed him on the bed.
While still on the bare mattress, he told police they were on his property “unattended” and that he was a lawyer, before soon raising self-defence.
The incident was alleged to have occurred between 4.45pm and 5.10pm on June 16, 2019.
Havas also, while in custody, told police he thought he had been drugged by his then girlfriend after consuming a whisky-drink she had made for him in the morning.
Havas, the Principal at First Choice Legal Services, maintained those claims throughout his hearing.
The woman was not charged with any crimes.
In his evidence to the court this week, Havas said he had woken to the complainant assaulting him and scratching him, which Magistrate Vivien Swain found was consistent with scratches on his back and arms.
He said he was holding down the accused when police arrived, who was yelling and trying to punch him.
Outside the courtroom, Havas told of the long-term strain the court matter had on him.
“It’s been a great stress upon me as a legal practitioner, for a considerable length of time,” he said.
The first hearing date was set over 12 months ago, before being listed again this week.
“I just want to get on with living my life.”
Havas’ social media presence shows a man now happily married to another woman.
His ex-partner, the court heard, is currently an inpatient at a mental health unit, and was unable to be cross-examined in court on her initial evidence.
In an interview with police, she said they had an argument the night before and both left the house.
Unable to find hotel accommodation, she returned at about 4am, while Havas came home about 10.30am.
She prepared a bowl of edamame beans for him.
An argument erupted and she said she threatened to leave before the accused allegedly got angry and “tried” to slap her.
This contradicted the evidence from the outside onlooker, Magistrate Swain said, who said he saw the woman being slapped.
Havas then threw the bowl of edamame beans at the wall, the ex-partner claimed.
She said she told him to calm down and questioned his state of being, when he became very angry.
He punched her and tried to pull her off the bed, she told police.
She told police they “came at the right moment”, as the accused sat over her and was trying to punch her with a closed fist.
She had a bruise on her forearm and no other injuries.
Magistrate Swain said she could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that he had assaulted the accused.
He was found not guilty of three charges including assault, affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
In December last year, Havas was charged and then cleared of influencing a witness after allegedly sending text messages to the ex-partner of a man he was representing.