Former radio host Antoinette Lattouf will seek “significant penalties” after being unlawfully fired by the ABC for her opinion on the Israel-Gaza conflict .

Lattouf was hired for a week-long stint on ABC Radio Sydney’s Mornings program before Christmas 2023.

She was fired in a “state of panic” at the broadcaster hours after staff learned she had shared a Human Rights Watch post claiming Israel was using starvation as a “weapon of war” in Gaza.

The 41-year-old won her unlawful termination case in the Federal Court on Wednesday, when Justice Darryl Rangiah handed down his decision in a courtroom full of her supporters.

“I was punished for my political opinion,” Lattouf said outside court.

Rangiah found the ABC breached Australian employment law by dismissing Lattouf for reasons that included her political opinion.

At the time, the broadcaster was under pressure from an orchestrated campaign of complaints against Lattouf by a pro-Israel lobbyist group.

The national broadcaster also gave her no chance to defend the allegations, merely showing her the door, Rangiah found.

The ABC was ordered to pay $70,000 to Lattouf for the emotional distress caused.

Outside court, she said she was dismissed for sharing findings of “unspeakable suffering” experienced by Palestinian children.

“Deliberately starving children is a war crime,” she said.

“Today the court has found that punishing someone for sharing facts about war crimes is also illegal.”

Lattouf offered to settle the case for $85,000 in August.

The ABC – which has spent more than $1.1 million defending the case – rejected that offer, her lawyer Josh Bornstein said.

“When organisations capitulate to bad faith complaints against staff, the results are often perverse,” he said.

“It has been a privilege to represent Antoinette Lattouf in this important case about corporate cancel culture.”

Bornstein said a significant penalty would be sought at an upcoming hearing to deter the ABC from similar conduct.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks said it was regrettable the matter was not resolved despite the organisation’s best efforts.

“It’s clear the matter was not handled in line with our values and expectations,” he said.

“We also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation.”

In February, Lattouf argued at a hearing that then-ABC chair Ita Buttrose, former content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor and former managing director David Anderson were responsible for her termination.

But Rangiah found the decision was solely Oliver-Taylor’s as he tried to mitigate further complaints about the broadcaster employing someone with Lattouf’s political opinions.

“Mr Oliver-Taylor sought to appease members of the public, who would attribute to Ms Lattouf the holding of anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic opinions, by taking her off air,” he said.

Anderson made a “material contribution” to the decision by giving his views to Oliver-Taylor that Lattouf held antisemitic opinions.

Rangiah accepted Oliver-Taylor was put in a difficult position by Lattouf’s choice to share the controversial post.

“Ms Lattouf’s making of the [Human Rights Watch] post was ill-advised and inconsiderate of her employer,” he said.

“The ABC would have to brace itself for the inevitable criticism – whether fair or unfair – for permitting one of its presenters to make a controversial post and then allowing her to remain on air.”

The ABC’s claims that Lattouf was fired for breaching a direction not to post anything about Israel and Gaza during her time on air were also rejected.

“I find Ms Lattouf was merely provided with advice that it would be best not to post anything controversial about the war,” he said.

Rangiah rejected claims by Lattouf – who is of Lebanese heritage – that she was terminated because of her race or national extraction.

He Rangiah has been asked to refer the Nine-owned Fairfax Media and The Age for contempt of court proceedings over their articles on the case.

The publications have been accused of naming individuals who complained about Lattouf, despite court orders suppressing their identity over safety concerns.

-AAP