Bankstown Hospital nurses face court over ‘kill Israelis’ rant, one pleading not guilty
Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir have fronted court, with the lawyer for one of the accused saying they intend to argue for the video to be excluded from the court proceedings because it was captured ‘without consent’ | WATCH
Dramatic scenes have unfolded outside a Sydney court as two former nurses charged over an anti-Semitic video appeared, with the lawyer of one of the accused saying his client will plead not guilty and will be arguing to have the video at the heart of the case excluded from proceedings.
Sarah Abu Lebdeh and her colleague Ahmad Rashad Nadir, former Bankstown Hospital nurses, faced court for the first time since they went global for their alleged anti-Semitic diatribe filmed during a night shift in the break room of their ward.
They appeared at Downing Centre Local Court briefly on Wednesday morning over the rant that saw both immediately stood down from their positions after the footage was released by Israeli social media influencer Max Veifer.
As Ms Abu Lebdeh arrived, a group of hooded and bearded men dressed in black shielded her from the media scrum on all sides as she walked into the courthouse.
Ms Abu Lebdeh is facing three commonwealth charges after claiming she would “kill” Israeli patients.
The 26-year-old was charged earlier this month with threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend.
Mr Nadir, 27, has been charged with the commonwealth offence of use carriage service to menace/harass/offend and a state charge of possess prohibited drug, after his locker was allegedly found with a vial of morphine.
Mr Nadir’s lawyer Mohamad Sakr told reporters outside court his client would be pleading not guilty and he intends “to argue for the video to be excluded from court”, citing “legal and technical grounds”.
Mr Sakr alleges the video was captured “without the consent and knowledge” of his client.
Appearing before magistrate Jennifer Atkinson, the pair had their matters adjourned to May 13. They have been excused from appearing in person.
Ms Lebdeh nor her lawyer did not speak outside the court.
In the video, Mr Nadir allegedly told Mr Veifer he “had no idea” the number of Israelis who had attended Bankstown Hospital who he had sent to “hell”.
Ms Abu Lebdeh allegedly said she would not treat Israeli patients but “kill them”, telling Mr Veifer he would “die the most disgusting death”.
At the time of the release, in mid February, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the “deranged” nurses would never work in the department again while Health secretary Susan Pearce, in tears, said the comments were “appalling on every level”.
The duo were also deregistered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW, effective from February 13.
Mr Nadir became an Australian citizen in 2020 after having fled Afghanistan as a 12-year-old boy.
When The Australian approached the two nurses at their Western Sydney homes in February, Mr Nadir said he planned to publicly apologise to the “Jewish community and anyone I’ve offended”, but first he needed to speak with police. He has not spoken since.
Ms Abu Lebdeh’s family said the nurse was “sorry” and had suffered an “extreme panic attack”.
Her apology, via a man claiming to be her uncle, came only after other family members abused a reporter from The Australian and snatched away his phone.
In the viral video Mr Nadir also allegedly said: “You (Mr Veifer) have no idea how many (Israeli people) come to this hospital … I send to Jahannam”, the Arabic translation for “hell”.
Ms Abu Lebdeh allegedly told the influencer: “It (Israel) is Palestine’s country, not your country you piece of shit.
“One day your time will come. One day you’ll die the most …”
She went on to say “when your time comes, I want you to remember my face so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death”.
Asked what would happen if an Israeli patient came into the hospital, Ms Abu Lebdeh said: “I won’t treat them, I will kill them.”
Mr Nadir said that while Mr Veifer had “beautiful eyes”, he was going to “get killed” and go to “hell”. “Those pretty eyes should stay in this world for longer,” said the man, who described himself in the footage as a “doctor”, which, given he’s a nurse, may also constitute an offence.
The incident took place on chat forum Chatruletka, a web platform that allows users across the world to randomly connect via video and audio with others.
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