Embattled Sydney businessman Salim Mehajer says he's grateful a judge treated him like everyone else as he successfully appealed the severity of his sentence for contravening an AVO issued to protect his ex-wife.
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The 33-year-old in February was convicted and handed a 12-month community correction order and fined $250 for contravening the apprehended violence order.
But Parramatta District Court Judge Norman Delaney on Wednesday said Mehajer should not be punished for his reputation.
He quashed the sentence, instead convicting Mehajer and placing him on a 12-month good behaviour bond. He's still required to pay the fine.
The judge said a new set of agreed facts made it clear the community corrections order was "too severe".
"Everybody in this community is entitled to be treated as an individual and (their) criminal prosecution is to be determined on the basis of the actual facts of the specific offence," he said.
"Not on their reputation, not on their background."
Outside court, Mehajer praised Judge Delaney.
"What he said was extremely fair and I'm grateful for him recognising that I'm just like every other individual," he told AAP.
Mehajer's lawyer, Zali Burrows, said her client was bullied by the authorities and the public.
"For everyone else this would have been no big deal," she said. "He gets bullied."
Ms Burrows and Mehajer later on Wednesday headed to another courtroom to discuss bail conditions previously varied by Judge James Bennett.
That bail is in relation to allegations Mehajer staged a 2017 crash in which his Mercedes AMG collided with another vehicle just before he was meant to appear in court over a taxi driver assault.
His bail was varied in July, with Mehajer now allowed to possess a phone but only access the internet via mobile data with the SIM to be registered with the police.
Mehajer on Wednesday requested permission to use a different phone while his main one was repaired - a process Ms Burrows said could take one to two days.
But a prosecutor noted the officer in charge had contacted the phone company and been told the repair could be done in one day.
"The Crown also notes that this is the second phone he's had since the bail variation," Kate Kenny told the court.
Mehajer told the judge, however, he'd only ever had one phone at a time.
"The phone stopped working. I asked if I could have a new phone," he said, explaining that new phone now needed to be fixed.
Ms Burrows said her client had also been put on notice for breaching his bail conditions for receiving what she says are automatic emails from Instagram.
Mehajer is banned from using "any social media platforms" including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter.
Judge Bennett allowed Mehajer to access Instagram at Auburn Police Station to disable the alert that was triggering the emails before adjourning the matter to Thursday.
Australian Associated Press
