An Australian man is suing eBay for thousands of dollars after it delisted the 'weed hat' he wore in a TV program.
According to Daily Rover, Zaky Mallah, an Australian man has taken action against eBay and dragged it to the courtroom. This move was taken after the online company stopped his public sale of a hat that includes a hashish leaf on the front. As a result, he sued the online company $30,000 (US$21,756) for removing of the itemizing, which was revealed on Dec. 21.
Previously in June, Mallah was seen wearing the weed hat while being featured on ABC's panel dialogue program Q&A. The program is about different politicians and different public figures answering questions asked by the viewers. However, Mallah's query caught everyone's attention.
In a sparked conversation with Liberal Party MP Steve Ciobo, Mallah said that the actions of some politicians "have just justified to many Australian Muslims in the community tonight to leave and go to Syria and join ISIL." ISIL is another identification of the Islamic State (ISIS).
Mallah's first hearing is scheduled in January on the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Ncat), which actually deals with consumer and tenancy points. He revealed to Mashable Australia that he aims to seek A$15,000 (US$10,886) for the weed hat, that would have been sold for the amount of money he sought. Additionally, he is looking forward to another A$15,000 for going through intense stress, depression, and legal online paper work.
"They said that I had breached their terms and conditions of the description section," Mallah said, as mentioned by Mashable, "It's ridiculous - if you look at the description, I've mentioned the history of this hat and its context."
Mallah has been convicted for terrorism issues previously in 2005. His past, as well as his televised comments instantly, raised questions over the permission given by ABC to let him be a part of Q&A audience, an internal review of the program. Moreover, the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was also criticized for asking ABC "whose side are you on?"
According to Mallah, there were around hundreds of bids on the weed hat. There was also a fake one of $90,000 (US$65,310), regarding which he contacted eBay to remove. But in response, the online auction company eliminated his listing and suspending his account.
Mallah also said that out of money he hopes to get from either the lawsuit or the auction, he will use a portion to invite Ciobo to lunch, as reported by The Guardian.
"At any place in the city of his choice. We can put our differences aside, come together, and make peace," he said.
However, an eBay spokeswoman said that the eBay has explained the problems to Mallah associated with the listing so that he could "address the issues".
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