Salim Mehajer begins electoral fraud appeal

DISGRACED property developer Salim Mehajer was waiting by on video link as he began his fight against his 100 counts of electoral fraud.

DISGRACED property developer Salim Mehajer began the process of appealing his electoral fraud conviction today.

The 32-year-old was on standby to appear via Audio Visual Link (AVL) this morning before NSW District Court Judge Helen Syme in Sydney’s Downing Centre.

The former Auburn deputy mayor was convicted in April of more than 100 counts of the offence.

A Sydney magistrate previously found he acted in a “joint criminal enterprise” with his sister Fatima to fix the 2012 Auburn Council elections by submitting false online applications to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) which placed family who lived elsewhere in the electorate so they could vote. It was that election which led to him becoming the deputy mayor.

The alarm bell was raised when the AEC received an unusual number of online applications shortly before the close of the electoral roll.

The magistrate found voters named in some of the forged forms later said they were not responsible for completing or signing them.

Salim Mehajer leaves The Downing Centre during a break from sentencing in June this year. Picture: Jenny Evans.

In handing down Mehajer’s sentence in June, Magistrate Beverley Schurr imposed a 21 month jail term with a non parole period of 11 months on him, to “reflect the serious criminality”.

“Only a full custodial sentence is appropriate in this case,” Ms Schurr said.

Following sentencing, Mehajer was placed in handcuffs and led away by three uniformed court officers. “I might see you soon,” Mehajer said to media as he made his first steps towards his new home for the next year. His legal team vowed to appeal the sentence. The property developer will be eligible for parole on May 21, 2019.

Fatima Mehajer (left) leaves the Downing Centre court in Sydney, Friday, June 22, 2018. Picture: AAP/Joel Carrett.

SALIM IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY

The court previously heard Mehajer was placed “in restrictive custodial conditions” after authorities received “intelligence” about a $250,000 bounty put out on his life over alleged underworld debts.

A Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) spokeswoman would not confirm or deny the claims, citing privacy reasons, when contacted by news.com.au.

He is next due to appear in court on October 29.

The cells inside Silverwater Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre. Picture: Craig Greenhill.

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