Moutia Elzahed could face jail as she is sentenced for refusing to stand for a judge ‘for Allah’

The burqa-wearing wife of an ISIS recruiter has revealed the abuse has faced since she refused to get up for a judge because she ‘only stands for Allah’. 

Moutia Elzahed, 51, is the first person in New South Wales to be found guilty of the new offence of disrespecting a court. 

She could face jail time or a hefty fine when she faces a Sydney magistrate for sentencing on Wednesday.

Elzahed was scolded by District Court Judge Audrey Balla for flouting court conventions and failing to stand for the judge in court in December 2016. 

In Downing Centre Local Court today, her barrister said she had been called ‘a maggot, a vile sewer, a slag, a grub, a cow’, during her legal battle. 

Elzahed is seen arriving at court – some 18 months after she failed to stand for Judge Balla

‘She’s feeling attacked, alone and extremely vulnerable,’ barrister David Hume said. 

Previously, Elzahed’s lawyer has explained to Judge Balla that ‘she only stands for Allah’. 

She was found guilty of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court after CCTV footage revealed she failed to stand that many times for Judge Balla.  

Each offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 days jail and/or an $1100 fine. 

In May, Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman ruled there was no evidence she was acting on a genuine religious belief, or that Islam’s teachings compelled her behaviour.   

After that appearance, Elzahed raised her index finger in an Islamic State salute outside the Downing Centre court complex. Meanwhile, a friend called journalists ‘cockroaches’.  

Islamic State salute: Moutia Elzahed raised her index finger for the cameras in May

Elzahed failed to sue the police after claiming she was punched and humiliated during a counter-terrorism raid on her home in Revesby in 2014. 

She was ordered to pay up about $250,000 in legal costs to New South Wales and Federal police. 

An appeal to a higher court was dismissed.