Criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas has court win: Sydney solicitor will have phone and laptop given back to him
- Sydney lawyer has court win
- Mahmoud Abbas was shot in July
A prominent Sydney lawyer who was shot in a brazen attack outside his home will have his phone and laptop given back to him so he can run his business, a Supreme Court judge has ordered.
Criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas was shot on July 26 in what police believe was a targeted attack outside his Greenacre home.
Mr Abbas, who isn't accused of any wrongdoing, was about to get into his car when he was shot, suffering injuries to his torso and right leg, with witnesses reporting hearing three shots.
The lawyer's work laptop and electronic devices were seized by police during the investigation, prompting him to apply to the NSW Supreme Court to have them returned to him.
Justice Ian Harrison on Monday ordered for the seized devices to be returned to Mr Abbas by 4pm on Wednesday.
Criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas was shot on July 26 in what police believe was a targeted attack outside his Greenacre home
'The question of costs, if not agreed, can be argued at 10am Wednesday,' he told the court.
It comes after a hearing before Justice Harrison last week when Mr Abbas's lawyer, Ertunc Ozen SC, argued that his client needed his phone and laptop back to run his law firm.
The court was told Mr Abbas kept 'electronic records and file notes' from his work with clients on his laptop and couldn't run his practice without it.
'The information relevant to the efficient conduct of those defences and in procedural matters is contained on a laptop, the contacts are contained on Mr Abbas' phone and the communications with clients are contained on both,' Mr Ozen told the court.
But police said they needed to keep the physical devices and argued that Mr Abbas could have run his business with the benefit of a download off the phone and laptop.
Mr Ozen said it took more than an hour to open a file each time, which was an 'impossible proposition'.
He argued that police had 'specialist teams', resources and officers who would be able to deal with the slow files on a much easier basis than Mr Abbas.
Mr Ozen said police seemed to have 'found relevant information' off the devices already and reminded the court that his client was not alleged to be involved in any wrongdoing.
'This is a solicitor who has been shot out the front of his home ... what do police think is being hidden here?' he said.
Mr Abbas's car covered in fingerprint dust and a bullet hole above his front door in Greenacre
Nicholas Regener, representing the police commissioner, told the court the review of the devices had not been completed and material on them was 'highly relevant to an ongoing investigation'.
Mr Regener suggested Mr Abbas buy a new phone and laptop and transfer all the data onto the new devices.
During the hearing, Justice Ian Harrison asked 'what the problem' would be with simply transferring the material onto new devices.
'If you had to die in a ditch because you don't get the phone back, what's the point?' the judge asked.
Mr Ozen said his client had the right to his own property.
Mr Abbas is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery after he was rushed to hospital by paramedics last Wednesday.
After being shot, Mr Abbas was able to run back into his home and call emergency services.
He was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
He is well known in the legal community, having represented a number of prominent people, including former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer and ex-NRL player Jamil Hopoate.
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