'Eleventh hour' expert submission delays former Sydney nurses' trial
Forner Bankstown Hospital nurses Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir were due to stand trial on August 31, but the date will now likely be pushed back.
The trial of two former Sydney nurses accused of threatening Israeli patients has been delayed due to the submission of last-minute expert evidence. Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir, who worked at Bankstown Hospital, were originally set to stand trial on August 31, but the date will now likely be pushed back to next year.
The delay stems from a dispute over expert testimony regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. Nadir's lawyer, Zemarai Khatiz, revealed that the Crown provided a report by Middle East analyst Dr Rodger Shanahan on August 5, which the defence had insufficient time to review before it would be used as evidence. Khatiz stated that obtaining their own expert will take between two and three months.
The pair were charged after Israeli content creator Max Ilinsky filmed them allegedly making threats against Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital, which was filmed on the cam-chat app Chatroulette and gained international attention in February 2025. Both nurses have pleaded not guilty, and the video was ruled admissible in court after being previously excluded due to improper acquisition and breaching privacy laws.
A new trial date is expected to be set on August 21, with the anticipated trial taking place in 2027.
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