December 14th 2024.
A man was taken into custody after he was suspected of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a protest in Melbourne's CBD back in September. The 36-year-old was charged with a single count of publicly showing a symbol of a prohibited terrorist organization and has been summoned to appear in court on March 6th of next year.
According to the Australian Federal Police, this offense carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison. This development came after the Commonwealth officially designated Hezbollah as a terrorist group in December of 2021. The legislation was later expanded in January of 2024 to include a ban on the public display or trade of prohibited Nazi and terrorist organization symbols, including the Hezbollah flag.
It was reported that the flag in question was deemed a prohibited symbol under this legislation. In light of this, the AFP launched Operation Ardvarna to investigate the incident, working alongside Victoria Police to gather evidence and information on the matter. AFP counter terrorism commander Nick Read revealed that, currently, 13 individuals are still being investigated for their alleged involvement in publicly displaying a prohibited terrorist organization symbol.
Read also shared that over 1100 hours have been dedicated to this investigation, including the review of more than 100 hours of CCTV footage and police body camera recordings. In an effort to stay updated on the latest news, sports, politics, and weather, you can download the 9News app which provides notifications directly to your smartphone. It's available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
