<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A woman accused of carrying the Hezbollah flag at a pro-</span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/palestine" rel="" target="" title="Palestine"><span>Palestine</span></a><span> rally will be the first person to challenge the validity of federal anti-terror laws.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sarah Mouhanna has pleaded not guilty to causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol following a protest in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="" title="Sydney"><span>Sydney</span></a><span> city centre on September 29, 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 20-year-old is the first person to contest national laws introduced in 2023 to stop the display of prohibited terrorist organisation symbols in public places, a court heard.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/city-sydney-council-new-planning-controls-no-gas-appliances/23c7918e-2bea-42b4-bbc4-8465818b2df8" target="_blank"><strong><span>Gas to be outlawed in Australia's biggest city</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Magistrate Christine Haskett said the constitutional challenge meant she could not deal with the matter, which should instead be elevated to the nation's highest court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm just concerned you've put the cart before the horse," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The High Court is the ultimate authority when dealing with the constitution. I don't have any power to deal with it."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/top-court-fight-looms-over-womans-terror-flag-charge/5b1fb225-67e4-4a24-b888-a21e40ec6276" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the commonwealth prosecutor argued the magistrate had both the power and the jurisdiction to deal with the constitutional issue, even if her decision could later be overruled by the High Court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said there was no guarantee the nation's highest court would hear the case and delays would result in "further fragmentation" of a matter that had been ready to proceed to a hearing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cremorne-north-sydney-woman-sent-threatening-letter-mentioning-erin-patterson-over-dogs/c510324d-ae69-4616-9623-3d212999ffc5" target="_blank"><strong><span>Letter threatens to poison woman's dogs with 'Erin Patterson mushroom recipe'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both state and federal attorneys-general had been made aware of the constitutional challenge and did not move to oppose it in the local court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Haskett noted the case was significant and Mouhanna was unlikely to be the only person charged with the offence given weekly protests occurring around the nation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is a major constitutional issue," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The magistrate elected not to hear the case and adjourned it until November 18 after Mouhanna flagged an intention to escalate the fight to the High Court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're now considering our options in a more superior court," her solicitor Hisham Karnib said after the hearing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mouhanna was charged after a large pro-Palestine protest that followed the expansion of Israel's offensive in Gaza into the Hezbollah stronghold of southern Lebanon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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