Self-described Nazi becomes first person jailed in Australia for performing banned salute
Melbourne: Jacob Hersant, a self-proclaimed Nazi, became the first person in Australia to be sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed salute.
As per the news agency AP, the 25-year-old made the salute outside the Victoria County Court on 27 October 2023, days after Victorian laws banning the gesture came into effect. The Australian far-right extremist walked out of a Melbourne court on bail on Friday after being sentenced to one month in jail.
Before the sentence was handed down, Hersant’s defence lawyer, Timothy Smartt, said his client’s “non-violent act” did not “justify sending a 25-year-old to prison”.
However, Magistrate Brett Sonnet stated that said a prison sentence was appropriate. “If there was physical violence, then I would have imposed a sentence close to the maximum penalty,” Sonnet remarked.
“The accused sought to promote Nazi ideology in the public arena and the court is satisfied he took advantage of the media to disseminate extreme political views. Hersant was a member of the National Socialist Network, an organisation that promoted white supremacy, deportation of immigrants and far-right actors,” Sonnet said, as mentioned by AP.
He noted that Hersant uttering “Australia for the white man” after he performed the salute sought to promote white supremacy in the country.
“Put bluntly, the white man is not superior to any other race of people,” Sonnet asserted.
On his way into court on Friday, Hersant maintained that he had the right to express his political views. He told reporters that their argument would be that the law is emotionally driven, constitutionally invalid, and anti-white.
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UP: Over 100 monkeys die of toxic chemical, buried in pit to hide carnage
Hathras (UP), Nov 22: More than 100 monkeys perished after inhaling a pesticide sprayed in a food godown and were stealthily buried in a pit, police on Friday said.
The bodies were taken out for a postmortem by a team of veterinarians on Friday.
Circle Officer Yogendra Krishna Narayan said police came to know about the deaths on Wednesday.
Police have registered a case against the employees of Food Corporation of India and started an investigation.
According to police, the chemical in question was aluminium phosphide sprayed on wheat sacks to protect it from insects and rodents in an FCI warehouse on November 7.
A troop of monkeys entered the warehouse through a broken window of the godown on the night of November 7 and ended up inhaling the gas.
When the workers opened the warehouse on November 9, they saw several monkeys dead.
They allegedly chose not to inform their seniors about deaths and buried the bodies in a pit.
The CO said the bodies were exhumed when some Vishv Hindu Parishad leaders came to know about the incident.
As per police count, more than 100 monkeys were exhumed from the pit.
Their bodies were in late stage decay, the officer said.
