Criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas has won the court: Sydney’s lawyer gets his phone and laptop back

A prominent Sydney lawyer who was shot in a brutal attack outside his home is getting his phone and laptop back so he can run his business, a Supreme Court judge has ordered.

Criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas was shot on July 26 in what police say was a targeted attack outside his home in Greenacre.

Mr Abbas, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, was about to get into his car when he was shot, sustaining injuries to his torso and right leg. Witnesses reported hearing three shots.

The lawyer’s work laptop and electronic devices were confiscated by police during the investigation, prompting him to apply to the NSW High Court to get them back.

Justice Ian Harrison on Monday ordered the seized devices to be returned to Mr Abbas by 4pm on Wednesday.

“The issue of costs, if no agreement is reached, could be argued on Wednesday at 10am,” he told the court.

It comes after a hearing last week before Judge Harrison when Mr Abbas’ lawyer Ertunc Ozen SC argued that his client needed his phone and laptop back to run his law firm.

The court was told that Mr Abbas kept ‘electronic records and case notes’ of his work with clients on his laptop and could not run his practice without it.

“The information relevant to the efficient conduct of that defense and in procedural matters is on a laptop, the contacts are on Mr Abbas’s phone and the communication with clients is on both,” Ozen told the court.

But police said they should keep the physical devices and argued that Mr Abbas could have run his business with the benefit of a download from the phone and laptop.

Ozen said it took more than an hour each time to open a file, which was an “impossible proposition.”

He argued that the police had “specialized teams”, resources and agents who could deal with the slow files much more easily than Abbas.

Mr Ozen said police appeared to have already found ‘relevant information’ from the devices and reminded the court that his client would not be involved in any wrongdoing.

“This is a lawyer who was shot in front of his house … what do the 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, the police commissioner’s representative, told the court that the assessment of the devices had not yet been completed and that the material on them was “highly relevant to an ongoing investigation.”

Mr. Regener suggested that Mr. Abbas buy a new phone and laptop and transfer all data to the new devices.

At the hearing, Judge Ian Harrison asked ‘what the problem’ would be if the material were simply transferred to new devices.

“If you had to die in a ditch because you can’t get the phone back, what’s the point?” asked the judge.

Mr Ozen said his client was entitled to his own property.

Abbas is expected to make a full recovery from surgery after being 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 and has represented a number of high profile people including former deputy mayor of Auburn Salim Mehajer and ex-NRL player Jamil Hopoate.