The lawyers for Nine have delivered the network an early Christmas gift, winning a defamation lawsuit against its flagship current affairs program.
The case revolved around a story titled ‘Forced Marriage’ that aired on 60 Minutes in 2014 about a teenager who was reportedly kidnapped by her father, taken to Jordan and forced into an arranged marriage with one of her cousins who was in his 30s.
The female who made these claims is Nadia Tabbaa (pictured above), who is now 29 years of age, and went by the pseudonym Rania Farrah for the 60 Minutes story.
Tabbah told reporter Liz Hayes (pictured above, left) that she did not escape until five years after she was kidnapped.
Tabbaas’ parents filed a defamation lawsuit in the NSW Supreme Court against Nine last month, with their representing barrister Clive Evatt telling a jury that her escape was “just nonsense”, according to Fairfax.
“We say all of this is pure fiction. Nothing of the kind ever took place,” Evatt said.
However, the jury believed Tabbaa’s story, with Justice Des Fagan noting she had shown “tremendous resilience and spirit” and was an inspiration.
