Muslim tradie Abdullah Al-Taay who allegedly told four teenagers he would ‘kill them’ if they did not hide their Israeli flag in Bellevue Hill tries to duck court appearance because of media attention

A man charged in an anti-Israel incident in which he allegedly threatened to kill four teenagers tried to avoid the media by not coming to court while his lawyer filed pleas to the charges.

Abdullah Al-Taay is accused of verbally threatening four teenagers on Bellevue Rd at Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s east on October 9 after the teenagers tried to display an Israeli flag on their car.

A video of the incident emerged online and appeared to show Mr Al-Taay telling the group to “put that thing back” before allegedly threatening them.

“I swear if I see you with that flag I will kill you all,” he allegedly said in the video.

“I’m telling you all now,” he allegedly added before retreating from the car.

Mr Al-Taay’s lawyer, Aqib Javed, told a deputy registrar on Friday that his client was “present in the vicinity” of the Downing Center Court but was “not inside due to media reporting and controversial issues”.

Mr Al-Taay was subsequently charged with four counts of stalking/intimidation with intent to cause fear or bodily harm, ‘one for each of the (alleged) victims’, Chief Inspector Jodie Radmore said.

He was charged on October 11 and spent a night in custody before being released on bail the following day after an application to a magistrate at Downing Center Local Court.

He was due to appear in the same court on Friday to enter pleas to the charges, but his lawyer Aqib Javed told a deputy registrar that Mr Al-Taay was “present in the vicinity” of the Downing Center Court but “was not inside due to media coverage and controversial issues’.

“For that reason he is not appearing… he is downstairs, if I may just point out,” Mr Javed told the court.

He told the court that his client was “reluctant” to appear due to the presence of the media outside the court and “kindly” requested the court to proceed without Mr Al-Taay’s presence due to the “controversy”.

Abdullah Al-Taay allegedly verbally threatened four teenagers on Bellevue Rd in Bellevue Hill on October 9

“I swear if I see y’all with that fucking flag I’m gonna kill y’all,” he allegedly said in the video

The clerk asked Mr Javed to take his client to court as he had no ‘order of apology’.

A few minutes later, Mr Al-Taay walked into the courtroom as Mr Javed formally pleaded not guilty to all four charges.

Mr Al-Taay did not answer questions outside the court during a major media frenzy, but took out his phone and filmed as he walked away.

In the days after the incident, Chief Inspector Radmore told the media that the group of teenagers attached the Israeli flag to their car before heading to a vigil to commemorate the lives lost in Hamas’s first attack on Israel earlier this month.

Mr Al-Taay has been released on bail because police are concerned about the safety of the community given his previous conviction for assault

“The youths were doing their regular work… when the driver of the vehicle stopped and began threatening them,” she said at the time.

Mr Al-Taay has been released on bail because police are concerned about the safety of the community given his previous conviction for assault.

Part of his bail conditions include being banned from suburbs where Jewish people might congregate in Sydney’s east, including Bellevue Hill, Double Bay, Woollahra, Queens Park, Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction, Tamarama, Dover Heights, Rose Bay , Vaucluse, Watsons Bay and Randwick.

He is also not allowed to attend a protest or gathering and must adhere to a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The case will return to court on December 15.