MOUTIA Elzahed — wife of a terrorist recruiter — has given the Islamic State salute after becoming the first person in NSW to be found guilty of refusing to stand for a judge in court.

She defiantly remained seated once again on Friday with her arms crossed after magistrate Carolyn Huntsman delivered the landmark decision. The 50-year-old Muslim then gave the terrorist organisation’s one-finger salute outside Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court while her friend called journalists “cockroaches”.

Elzahed, who’s married to jailed IS extremist Hamdi Alqudsi, was found guilty of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court.

Friday’s stand-off came to a head when the magistrate returned to the bench and ordered Elzahed to leave her seat at the back of the courtroom and approach the bar table.

“Remain standing — you remain standing when I speak to you,” Ms Huntsman said. The magistrate found Elzahed had repeatedly and intentionally flouted the established court convention in 2016 when she failed to rise for District Court Judge Audrey Balla.

Elzahed said she only stood for Allah but Ms Huntsman found no evidence she’d acted on a genuine religious belief.

“No evidence was presented that the teachings of Islam compel this conduct,” the magistrate said.

In 2016, Elzahed had been trying to sue the state and federal governments on claims of police violence and wrongful imprisonment over a raid on her Sydney home two years earlier. She was ultimately unsuccessful.

CCTV footage previously played in court showed Elzahed failed to rise nine times in November and December, with each offence carrying a maximum jail term of 14 days and/or a $1100 fine.

The magistrate on Friday noted Elzahed, who had no prior convictions, may be eligible for community work when the matter returns to court on June 15. Ms Huntsman ruled that the law Elzahed was charged under — introduced in 2016 following a string of high-profile cases where Muslim defendants refused to stand on religious grounds — was constitutionally valid.

The court heard Elzahed has been subjected to online trolling and death threats since the case began.

The defence had originally cast doubt over whether Elzahed was the woman under the black niqab who refused to stand. But her lawyer later conceded her identity wouldn’t be contested.

Defence barrister David Hume instead argued his client should be acquitted because there was no evidence Elzahed was under a legal duty to rise. Elzahed, who lost her civil action over the 2014 raid and was ordered to pay $250,000 in police legal costs, earlier this week appealed the trial judge’s ruling that she could not give evidence while wearing a niqab.</s>ISIS recruiter's wife Moutiaa El-Zahed found guilty for refusing to stand for judge

The wife of a convicted Islamic State recruiter has become the first person in NSW to be convicted for not standing for a judge.

Moutiaa El-Zahed, 50, was charged with nine counts of engaging in disrespectful behaviour in court, an offence that was introduced in NSW in 2016.

She sat defiantly with her arms folded after she was found guilty of the charges.

A Sydney Magistrate said Ms El-Zahed "communicated a lack of respect for the court and the judge" by not rising to her feet when District Court Judge Audrey Balla came in and out of court during a civil hearing in 2016.

"There is no evidence before this court that she genuinely held any religious beliefs [and] there is no evidence that the teachings of Islam compelled this conduct," Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman said.

Ms El-Zahed is the wife of convicted Islamic State recruiter Hamdi Alqudsi, who is serving a six-year jail sentence for helping young Australians travel to Syria to fight.

In 2014, during a counter-terror raid on her home, Ms El-Zahed along with her two sons and her husband alleged they were assaulted by police and falsely imprisoned.

They took the matter to court and the case was dismissed, but during the hearings the court found she knowingly refused to stand when the judge entered the room.

Dressed in a black niqab, she stood as Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman entered Sydney's Downing Centre courtroom today.

More to come.</s>The wife of a terrorist recruiter has been convicted of disrespectful behaviour after refusing to stand for a judge in a Sydney court.

Moutia Elzahed, the wife of jailed Islamic State extremist Hamdi Alqudsi, was the first person in NSW to face the charge after she refused to rise for a judge in 2016 purportedly on religious grounds.

The 50-year-old Muslim woman was found guilty in the Downing Centre Local Court of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court.

Elzahed again did not stand but folded her arms when magistrate Carolyn Huntsman left the bench after delivering her ruling on Friday.

The magistrate had found Elzahed intentionally flouted the established court convention on nine separate occasions in 2016 when she remained seated in front of District Court Judge Audrey Balla.</s>The self-described second ‘wife’ of a convicted Islamic State terrorist recruiter who refused to stand for an Australian judge has been convicted of disrespectful behaviour.

The 50-year-old Muslim woman was found guilty in Sydney of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court. She claimed in her defense that she only stood for Allah.

Moutia Elzahed, the wife of jailed Islamic State extremist Hamdi Alqudsi, was the first person in the Australian state of NSW to face the charge after she refused to rise for a judge in 2016 purportedly on religious grounds, as Breitbart London reported.

Elzahed, clad in the traditional Islamic burqa, again did not stand but folded her arms when magistrate Carolyn Huntsman left the bench after delivering her ruling on Friday.

The magistrate had found Elzahed intentionally flouted the established court convention on nine separate occasions in 2016 when she remained seated in front of District Court Judge Audrey Balla.

Elzahed said she only stood for Allah, but the trial judge ruled Friday there was no evidence she was acting on a genuine religious belief or that the teachings of Islam compelled such behaviour.

Defence barrister David Humehad had argued his client should be acquitted because there was no evidence Elzahed was under a legal duty to stand.

Elzahed, who lost her civil action and was ordered to pay $250,000 in police legal costs, earlier this week appealed the trial judge’s ruling that she could not give evidence while wearing a niqab.</s>The wife of an Islamic State group recruiter has become the first person convicted under a law criminalising the refusal to stand for a judge in Australia.

Moutia Elzahed, 50, raised a finger to the sky to perform the IS salute outside of a Sydney court after the proceedings.

She was found guilty of nine charges of disrespectful behaviour during previous court hearings she was involved in. She will be sentenced on June 15.

Elzahed, dressed in a black niqab, gown and gloves, sat with her arms folded in the Downing Centre Local Court after magistrate Carolyn Huntsman delivered the landmark decision.

New South Wales introduced the law in 2016 after several Muslim defendants refused to stand for judges, citing religious grounds.

The magistrate found Elzahed had repeatedly and intentionally flouted the established court convention in 2016.

CCTV showed Elzahed failed to rise in court nine times, with each offence carrying a maximum jail term of 14 days and a A$1,100 (£610) fine.

Elzahed said she only stood for Allah, but Ms Huntsman found no evidence she had acted on a genuine religious belief.

"No evidence was presented that the teachings of Islam compel this conduct," the magistrate said.

Elzahed made an unsuccessful attempt to sue the state and federal governments on claims of police violence and wrongful imprisonment over a raid on her Sydney home.

Elzahed is married to Hamdi Alqudsi, who was sentenced in 2016 to eight years in prison for helping Australians travel to Syria to fight for extremists.</s>The wife of a terrorist recruiter has been convicted of disrespectful behaviour after refusing to stand for a judge in a Sydney court.

Moutia Elzahed, the wife of jailed Islamic State extremist Hamdi Alqudsi, was the first person in NSW to face the charge after she refused to rise for a judge in 2016 purportedly on religious grounds.

The 50-year-old Muslim woman was found guilty in the Downing Centre Local Court of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court.

Elzahed again did not stand but folded her arms when magistrate Carolyn Huntsman left the bench after delivering her ruling on Friday.

The magistrate had found Elzahed intentionally flouted the established court convention on nine separate occasions in 2016 when she remained seated in front of District Court Judge Audrey Balla.

Elzahed said she only stood for Allah, but Ms Huntsman on Friday ruled there was no evidence she was acting on a genuine religious belief or that the teachings of Islam compelled such behaviour.

In 2016, Elzahed had been trying to sue the state and federal governments over claims of police violence during a raid on her Sydney home two years earlier. She was ultimately unsuccessful.

CCTV footage previously played in court showed Elzahed failed to rise nine times in November and December 2016 with each offence carrying a maximum jail term of 14 days and/or a $1100 fine.

The defence had originally cast doubt over whether Elzahed was the woman under the black niqab but her lawyer later conceded her identity would no longer be contested.

Defence barrister David Hume instead argued his client should be acquitted because there was no evidence Elzahed was under a legal duty to stand.

Elzahed, who lost her civil action and was ordered to pay $250,000 in police legal costs, earlier this week appealed the trial judge's ruling that she could not give evidence while wearing a niqab.</s>SYDNEY, Australia — The wife of an Islamic State group recruiter has given the militants’ single-finger salute outside a Sydney court after becoming the first person convicted under a new state law criminalizing the refusal to stand for a judge.

Moutia Elzahed defiantly remained seated on Friday in the Downing Centre Local Court after magistrate Carolyn Huntsman delivered the landmark decision.

The 50-year-old was found guilty of nine charges of disrespectful behaviour during previous court hearings she was involved in. She will be sentenced in June.

New South Wales introduced the law in 2016 after several Muslim defendants refused to stand for judges on religious grounds.

Elzahed is married to Hamdi Alqudsi, who was sentenced in 2016 to eight years in prison for helping young Australians travel to Syria to fight for extremists.</s>The wife of a Sydney terrorist recruiter who refused to stand for a judge in court, claiming she only stood for Allah, has been found guilty of disrespectful behaviour in court.

Moutia Elzahed defiantly remained seated again with her arms crossed after magistrate Carolyn Huntsman delivered the landmark decision.

The 50-year-old, who is married to jailed Islamic State extremist Hamdi Alqudsi, was found guilty of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court.

The magistrate found Elzahed had repeatedly and intentionally flouted the established court convention in 2016 when she failed to rise for district court judge Audrey Balla.

Elzahed said she only stood for Allah but Huntsman found no evidence she had acted on a genuine religious belief.

CCTV footage previously played in court showed Elzahed failed to rise nine times in November and December, with each offence carrying a maximum jail term of 14 days and/or a fine of $1,100.

In 2016, Elzahed had been trying to sue the state and federal governments on claims of police violence and wrongful imprisonment over a raid on her Sydney home two years earlier. She was ultimately unsuccessful.

Outside Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Friday, Elzahed gave the Isis one-finger salute while her friend called journalists “cockroaches”.

The matter will return to court on 15 June.
Islamic State recruiter Hamdi Alqudsi's wife Moutia Elzahed becomes the first person convicted of an offence for refusing to stand for a judge in court, with a magistrate finding her guilty of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court.