Appeal Allows Controversial Video as Evidence in Trial of Ex-Sydney Nurses
A Court of Appeal decision overturns a lower court ruling, permitting a disputed video to be used as evidence in the upcoming trial of two former Bankstown Hospital nurses accused of menacing Israeli patients.
In a recent judgment, the New South Wales Court of Appeal set aside a District Court order that had barred a video from being presented at trial. The footage captures a February conversation on the Chatruletka app between former Bankstown Hospital nurses Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Israeli influencer Max Veifer (real name Max Ilinsky). Both nurses have pleaded not guilty to using a carriage service to menace Israeli patients, with Abu Lebdeh also charged with threatening violence.
Defence lawyers argued the video breached privacy laws and was improperly obtained, but the Crown maintained that without the visual record the jury could not grasp the context, tone, or gestures. The appeal judges have now allowed the video, pending possible suppression orders, to be admitted. The two ex-nurses, dismissed after the incident, are due to stand trial at the end of August.
Why it matters
The ruling determines whether key visual evidence will be heard in a high-profile hate-speech case involving medical professionals.
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