Two Former Bankstown Nurses Plead Not Guilty; Video Evidence Excluded
Ahmed Rashad Nadir (28) and Sarah Abu Lebdeh (27) have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an online conversation in February 2025. A New South Wales District Court judge has now ruled that the video recording of that conversation cannot be used as evidence in their upcoming trial.
Judge Michael McHugh ruled the video was likely obtained without the nurses' consent, rendering it inadmissible under NSW law.
Charges and Pleas
- Ahmed Rashad Nadir is charged with one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend.
- Sarah Abu Lebdeh is charged with one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend, and one count of threatening violence to a group.
- Both have entered not guilty pleas.
Court Ruling on Video Evidence
On Tuesday, Judge Michael McHugh of the NSW District Court ruled that the video recording of the conversation, along with any other recordings of the interaction, must be excluded from the trials of both defendants.
The judge stated that the video evidence was likely obtained without the consent of the nurses. Under New South Wales law, recording a private conversation or activity without consent is illegal and carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
The court applied the Evidence Act, which stipulates that improperly obtained evidence is not admissible unless the desirability of its admission outweighs the undesirability. The court concluded that the latter condition was not met.
The majority of the judge's detailed reasoning is subject to a court order and cannot be published.
Legal Arguments
Defense Argument
The defendants' legal representatives argued that the video was illegally obtained. Greg James KC, representing Nadir, contended that the other participant — Israeli content creator Max Veifer (real name Max Ilinsky) — recorded a private conversation without the nurses' consent, violating NSW surveillance device laws.
The defense argued that Veifer's practice of recording Chatruletka sessions for his own protection did not fall under lawful exceptions. James KC described Veifer's actions as "vigilante activity."
Prosecution Argument
Crown Prosecutor Justin Hannebery KC countered that expectations of privacy are lower in conversations between strangers on a random chat platform. He also argued that applying NSW surveillance law to a microphone used in another country to connect to a chat website would stretch the law's application. The prosecution had submitted that the crucial nature of the evidence outweighed questions of how it was obtained.
Background
The conversation took place in February 2025 on the cam chat platform Chatruletka, which randomly matches users for conversations. The nurses were matched with Max Veifer, who recorded the two-and-a-half-minute interaction and later published it to his social media followers.
In the video, the pair allegedly stated they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and made threats to kill them. The video subsequently went viral.
The nurses were arrested in late February and early March. They remain on bail and have been suspended from their jobs by NSW Health.
They have also been banned from working with NDIS participants for two years.
Trial Schedule
The trial for both defendants is scheduled to begin at the end of August. The judge noted that the case has received extensive media coverage and that the alleged utterances are "at the very least likely highly disturbing to right-minded people." He stated that it is for a jury to determine whether the elements of the offenses are made out.
If the video evidence is excluded, Nadir's lawyer Zemarai Khatiz stated it would be "a devastating blow to the prosecution's case."
Abu Lebdeh's lawyer, Rayan Kadadi, welcomed the ruling.