An ISIS recruiter’s wife gave the one-fingered ISIS salute outside an Australian court after being convicted for refusing to stand before a judge.
Moutia Elzahed, covered head to toe in a black niqab, refused to stand before District Court Judge Audrey Balla during court proceedings in 2016, claiming she only stood for Allah, according to The Associated Press. Elzahed became the first person in Australian history on Friday to be convicted under a 2016 law that outlawed refusing to stand before a judge.
Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman would not stand for such conduct, however, when she delivered Elzahed’s conviction.
“Remain standing — you remain standing when I speak to you,” Huntsman told Elzahed after ordering her to approach the bench, according to News.com.au.
Elzahed’s claim she only stood for Allah was unfounded, since Islam does not mandate such a practice, Huntsman ruled.
“No evidence was presented that the teachings of Islam compel this conduct,” Huntsman said.
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Elzahed gave ISIS’ one-fingered salute outside the court afterward while her friend called journalists “cockroaches.”
Elzahed is the wife of Hamdi Alqudsi, who an Australian court convicted in 2016 for helping Australians travel to Syria to fight for ISIS. Elzahed subsequently tried to sue local and federal governments because of a police raid on her Sydney home in 2014, alleging wrongful imprisonment and police violence. The court ruled against Elzahed and ordered her to pay $188,465.90 to cover legal fees for the police. She refused to rise before the judge a total of nine times, which carries a maximum fine of $828 and 14 days imprisonment, court camera recordings showed.
New South Wales, Australia’s most populated state, enacted the law against refusing to stand after several Muslim defendants refused to stand before judges, citing their Islamic belief.
Huntsman ruled, however, Elzahed could be eligible for the alternative of community service since she has no prior convictions. She will appear for sentencing on June 14.
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