A 25-year-old man has become the first person convicted in the Australian state of Victoria for giving an illegal Nazi salute.
Jacob Hersant, a self-described neo-Nazi, made the gesture and praised Adolf Hitler in front of media cameras in the Victoria District Court on October 27 last year after appearing there on a charge without relationship
A judge rejected defense arguments that the legislation was constitutionally invalid. He made the salute just six days after the Victorian state government banned the gesture.
Up to a year in prison
Imitating Victoria’s decision, the Federal Parliament passed legislation two months later, banning the performance of the fascist salute in public throughout Australia, as well as the public display or trade of Nazi hate symbols.
Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of anti-Semitism in Australia, said the decision was “a historic and resounding day for justice and decency”.
The man will be sentenced on Wednesday and face 12 months in prison for this crime.
