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Two former nurses accused of threatening to kill Israeli patients at a Sydney hospital are challenging the charges against them in Australia’s highest court.
Ahmad Nadir, 28, and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27, are accused of making threats during an online conversation with Israeli influencer Max Veifer last year.
Both have pleaded not guilty to charges relating to allegedly menacing and offensive behaviour.
Their lawyers are now preparing a challenge to the High Court of Australia, arguing that the charges unlawfully restrict freedom of political communication.
Nadir’s solicitor, Zemarai Khatiz, told The Australian that Abu Lebdeh’s lawyer had already notified the NSW District Court of the planned challenge and that he was preparing a similar notice.
“We are in the process of preparing a constitutional challenge to the High Court of Australia in Canberra relating to the validity of the charges, on the basis that they impermissibly burden the implied right of political communication,” he said.
The move could delay their trial, currently scheduled to begin on 12 October, until next year.
The allegations emerged in February 2025 after footage circulated online showing the pair speaking to Veifer through Chatruletka, a website that connects strangers for video conversations.
The nurses, who worked at the Bankstown Hospital in south-west Sydney, allegedly said they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and made threats of violence against them.
Both were subsequently removed from their nursing roles.
The footage sparked widespread attention after Veifer shared it on social media.
In June, a judge ruled that the recording could not be used at trial following arguments that it had been obtained without the nurses’ consent.
However, prosecutors successfully appealed, and the video was allowed back into evidence in July.
The trial was subsequently postponed following the late introduction of expert evidence relating to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Neither nurse has been convicted, and the High Court has yet to rule on the proposed challenge.
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