Laura Allam and Mohammad Sharab, This Is Your Life

According to the Herald Sun:

It is alleged the victim was held down and beaten with a hammer until he gave them his iPhone and Apple watch and their respective passcodes.

The victim had at least one of his fingers broken in the brutal assault.

After being found by a passer-by and taken to hospital, the victim phoned his boss as he had sensitive company information on his phone and he was worried they would use it to attack his employer.

He urged his boss to make sure everything was locked down.

“He was saying something like ‘Lock everything down, make sure your IT is secure’,” the employer alleged.

This might indicate they assaulted the victim due to his relationship with his employer, as was initially reported. Yet further down in the report:

Victoria Police does not believe at this stage that the motive was based on ethnicity.

The Age elaborates, indicating the attack was the result of a personal dispute:

This masthead can also reveal that in the days after the alleged attack, Abusamha had been attempting to negotiate a deal with his alleged attackers.

A source close to both sides in the negotiations between Abusamha and accused woman Laura Allam said the dispute was personal in nature and not political, religious or racial.

The deal involved the return of Abusamha’s phone and watch, which were allegedly taken during the incident, as well as financial compensation for his pain and suffering. In exchange, he would have filed a “no complaint” statement with police.

It is alleged in police documents before the court that Allam and Mohammad Sharab lured Abusamha to a meeting where he was abducted, assaulted and robbed.

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The widespread dissemination of claims the incident was motivated by political, racial or religious motives has led the lawyers for Allam and co-accused Mohammad Sharab to seek broad suppression orders to stop the spread of misinformation.

The primary investigator in the case, First Constable Daniel Rees, told Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week there was no evidence at this stage to substantiate News Corp’s claims the incident was motivated by race or religion.

“There is absolutely nothing to substantiate that. In relation to the victim’s statement, there is nothing to substantiate that motive,” he said.

The Murdoch-owned outlets have continued to assert the motivation based in part on its recounting of a conversation that Abusamha had with his employer, in which he claimed to be a victim of political, racial or religious violence because of his employer’s background.

But Abusamha’s sworn victim statement given to police contains no reference to this alleged motive.

In response to a series of stories about the alleged political, racial or religious motivation, Victoria Police issued a statement to deny that motive was part of the police case, criticising the Herald Sun for persisting in its incorrect reporting.

Either way, what is it about prominent palestinian Arab activists and their propensity to kidnap and assault people?

Updates

12/3/24 9:30: ABC News Australia has more details:

According to court documents, police allege Ms Allam sent a WhatsApp message to the alleged victim asking to meet for dinner, and picked him up about 9:50pm on February 16.

Police allege Ms Allam then drove for 200 metres, before stopping the car and getting out. In court documents police said the passenger was then ambushed by three men wearing masks, who forced him into a ute parked nearby.

The alleged victim recognised two of his three attackers when they removed their masks and was "severely assaulted with a hammer", police claimed.

Ms Allam is then alleged to have called the kidnappers and told them, "hit him hard".

In documents provided to the court, police said the kidnapping victim was taken to a property in Melbourne's north, where Ms Allam allegedly stomped on his head.

They said the injured man was left at the property and managed to flag down a passer-by, who took him to hospital.

His injuries included fractures to his back, fingers, cuts to his head and bruises to his shoulders and hands.

According to court documents, the entire roadside ambush was captured on CCTV.

Ms Allam was arrested on February 23 at a Bunnings car park.

"The accused provided a full no comment interview when asked in relation to the allegations," police said.

Officers also allege Ms Allam's father offered the alleged victim $10,000 and a new phone "in order to drop his statements made to Victoria Police".

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Ms Allam and Mr Sharab are currently out on bail.

A suppression order continues to cover the identity of a third person charged over the incident. Police believe a fourth offender was also involved but are yet to make an arrest.