A man accused of forcing his daughter into an arranged marriage with a cousin 15 years her senior in Syria is suing Channel Nine for defamation, with his barrister claiming the events described on 60 Minutes were "pure fiction".
60 Minutes reported in 2014 that Nadia Tabbaa's parents, Mouhammad and Pamela, conspired to move her against her will from Australia to Syria, where she was beaten and forced to marry a man she had never met.
Nadia, who was given the pseudonym Rania Farrah, told the program she had been tricked into travelling to Egypt for what she thought was a holiday when she was 13 years old, only for her to be made to live with her paternal relations in Syria for the next five years.
She was interrogated about whether she had taken drugs or had sex while living in Australia, subjected to a virginity check and physically assaulted by her father, she said.
"He's the most evil man I've ever met or anyone would ever meet," she said.
The program, presented by Liz Hayes and titled "Forced Marriage", featured re-enactments of a teenage Nadia creeping down the stairs with her shoes in her hand on the day she allegedly escaped with consular assistance.
"Nadia couldn't bear the idea of her future and, with the help of her neighbour, plotted her daring escape," Hayes reported.
But barrister Clive Evatt, who is representing Mouhammad and Pamela Tabbaa in the NSW Supreme Court, told a jury on Tuesday that this escape was "just nonsense".
"We say all of this is pure fiction. Nothing of the kind ever took place," Mr Evatt said.
There were 11 transcripts prepared during production and these had become progressively "slanted and you might think unfair" with each variation, Mr Evatt said.
In one iteration Hayes reported that Mr Tabbaa had denied the allegation he had forced his daughter into an arranged marriage, but this was left out of the program that went to air.
"All he would say is, 'forced marriage in Australia is illegal'," Hayes reported in the final cut.
"It's the kind of response that gives absolutely no comfort to his daughter."
Throughout the program, it was Hayes who reported that Nadia had been forced into an arranged marriage, but this was never claimed by Nadia herself and in fact no such marriage had ever taken place, Mr Evatt said.
The defamatory allegations were also raised on news reports and promotions ahead of the broadcast, and repeated the following week in the viewer feedback segment.
"What's being portrayed in this program is horrible," Mr Evatt said.
"Pity it's untrue."
However, Channel Nine is defending the action on the basis of truth and fair comment.
The hearing continues.