SYDNEY — Judge Michael McHugh ruled that video evidence from a ChatRoulette conversation cannot be used in the trial of Ahmad Nadir, 28, and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27. The ruling occurred on Tuesday at Sydney's Downing Centre district court.

Nadir and Abu Lebdeh have pleaded not guilty to charges of being menacing and offensive and are scheduled to face trial at the end of August. Judge McHugh stated, "I've come to the firm view that the video evidence must be excluded from each of the trials of the applicants."

The judge cited the broad publication of the material online and in the media as a reason for excluding the video evidence. He also commented on the nature of the alleged remarks, saying, "The alleged utterances of the applicants during the chatroom interactions are on their face at the very least likely highly disturbing to right-minded people."

Lawyers for Nadir and Abu Lebdeh argued that the nurses were recorded without their consent while at Bankstown hospital in south-west Sydney. They contended that the recording amounted to an illegal invasion of privacy for their clients.

Max Ilinsky, also known as Max Veifer, recorded a video of his conversation with the nurses on the ChatRoulette platform in 2025. ChatRoulette is a platform designed to randomly connect users from around the world for conversations.

Greg James, representing Nadir and Abu Lebdeh, described Mr. Veifer's actions as "This man [Mr Veifer] is running his own private … vigilante activity." James added that Veifer "He doesn't care what legal regime may prevail to obtain the recordings."

Crown prosecutor Justin Hannebery argued that the online chat did not carry the same expectations of privacy due to the random nature of the connection between the nurses and Veifer. Hannebery stated, "Not all private conversations are created equal." He added, "It isn't exactly [a chat] with a close personal friend where that expectation might be regarded as absolutely heightened."