Disgraced Sydney businessman Salim Mehajer has been released from prison on parole after spending the past five years behind bars for a raft of criminal offences.
Mehajer, now 39, walked from John Morony Correctional Centre near Windsor on Friday to a waiting car, ending a long chapter of run-ins with law enforcement.
He left the prison compound in a black Mercedes-Benz car without making comment to the pack of waiting media.
A media helicopter followed his car driving through Sydney after his release. (ABC News)
A court has previously heard he spent the majority of his time in the correctional centre in protective custody, commonly known as solitary confinement.
The State Parole Authority in June handed down a decision recommending his release after assessing him as having a “medium” risk of re-offending.
He left custody on parole on Friday after serving three years and nine months of his seven-year sentence for domestic violence and fraud offences.
A wedding and then a cell
Salim Mehajer with his bride Aysha at the now-infamous luxury wedding. (Facebook)
Mehajer first earned public notoriety as deputy mayor of Auburn for his lavish 2015 wedding that saw his street closed down for wild celebrations featuring luxury cars, motorcycles and four helicopters.
He was fined $220 by the council for closing off the street without permission, and shortly after, held a bizarre press conference where he flagged his intention to run for prime minister.
Mehajer’s legal issues got more serious in the following years, with police investigating the former property developer for corruption, assault, fraud and domestic violence offences.
In June 2018, he was jailed for 11 months for electoral fraud, but shortly after his release in May 2019, he found himself back in prison for perverting the course of justice for staging a car crash.
Crowds outside the wedding party of Salim and Aysha Mehajer on August 15, 2015. (Supplied)
Mehajer admitted orchestrating the crash in 2017 to avoid a court appearance over assaulting a cab driver.
After again being granted bail, Mehajer’s time as a free man did not last long after being charged, then convicted in November 2020, of lying in affidavits to secure relaxed bail conditions.
He has not left custody since, with one District Court judge remarking Mehajer had a history of “manipulating the court system”.
Back to custody for good
Salim Mehajer, as one judge remarked while revoking his bail. had a history of “manipulating” the legal system. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
While on remand in Cooma Correctional Centre, the corrupt former local politician then faced charges of domestic violence against a former partner.
He would later be convicted of assaulting the woman during their relationship, and sending her threatening messages from jail.
Mehajer choked the woman, struck her 10 times and threatened to kill her mother, according to documents released by the parole board last month.
At the time, Mehajer had resorted to defending himself in the Sydney District Court after a judge was told of several disputes with previous legal representatives.
In 2022, he was labelled a vexatious litigant by a court, preventing him from launching civil lawsuits, after a failed court litigation involving a $52 million development in Lidcombe.
It means Mehajer would need a court order granting him permission before launching any further action in the state’s legal system.