Ferntree Gully man charged after allegedly waving Hezbollah flag at city protest in September
An eastern suburbs man has been charged after he allegedly waved the flag of declared terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a CBD rally in September.
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A Ferntree Gully man has been charged after allegedly waving the flag of terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a city rally in September.
Australian Federal Police on Friday charged the 36-year-old man after he allegedly displayed the outlawed symbol at a rally on September 29 following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.
Thousands of Melburnians rallied in the streets after the Hezbollah leader was killed, sparking a federal investigation into who may have displayed the illegal symbol on that day.
Hezbollah was officially deemed a terrorist group in 2021 before laws were introduced in January prohibiting the public display of symbols or flags of terrorist organisations.
The eastern suburbs man was formally charged with one count of publicly displaying a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol on Friday.
The maximum sentence for that offence is 12 months behind bars.
AFP Counter Terrorism Commander Nick Read said the thorough investigation and subsequent charges should act as a deterrent to others.
“The AFP has been relentlessly pursuing evidence and gathering intelligence to ensure those accused of displaying prohibited symbols can be brought before the courts and face justice,” he said.
“More than 1100 hours has been spent investigating this matter, including reviewing more than 100 hours of CCTV evidence and police body worn camera footage and progressing the analysis of information collected during an AFP week of action in October.
“While it is important the AFP provides community reassurance and deterrence through education, action is the greatest deterrence.”
Commander Read said more than a dozen others were being probed for displaying other symbols of known terrorist groups.
“As of today, 13 individuals remain under investigation for display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol in a public place; three search warrants have been executed against three individuals, while a further three people have been spoken to by investigators; and a number of mobile telephones have been seized, as well as an item of clothing depicting a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol,” he added.
The Ferntree Gully man has been summoned to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on March 6.
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