Salim Mehajer tells court ‘bizarre’ domestic violence allegations against him are ‘sprinkled with lies’

Former Auburn deputy mayor tells NSW court he knows he is notorious but the claims made against him are not entirely truthful

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Salim Mehajer knows he is notorious, but the allegations he repeatedly punched a woman, threatened to put a bullet in her mother’s head and choked her are “bizarre” and “sprinkled with a number of lies”, he has told a court.

The 36-year-old former Auburn deputy mayor is defending himself against seven domestic violence charges in the New South Wales district court.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org