Three men arrested for performing Nazi salutes outside a Jewish museum have told a court they were joking. Daniel Muston, Ryan Peter Marshall, and Anthony Raymond Mitchell were charged with behaving in an offensive manner by Sydney police after conducting the stunt just days after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians. They pleaded not guilty to the offense, saying it was meant with humor, but Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson questioned the timing. She stated that it was a “matter of common knowledge” what occurred in Israel less than a week earlier, and asked, “Why that location, why that time?”
Legal experts say the case will test new laws banning the display of Nazi symbolism and insignia that were passed by the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament in 2022. The state applies a $100,000 fine for displaying symbols such as swastikas and was the second in Australia to do so – following in the footsteps of Victoria. NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark praised the legislation and said, “Nazi symbols are a gateway to violence and are used as a recruitment tool by extremists.”
Other Australian states, including Queensland, followed suit, and the laws now apply across the country. The Sydney case will provide Australia’s legal establishment with a snapshot of how they will be applied and how far the courts will go in administering punishment.
Nazi symbolism is also banned in other countries, including Germany, which has some of the world’s strictest laws. It is illegal in Germany to fly a Nazi flag, display the swastika, deny the Holocaust, or make statements in support of Hitler or the Nazi party. This applies online and offline. The country that gave rise to the Nazi regime is particularly sensitive, and lawmakers worry that similar horrors could happen again.
Political and media figures in Germany believe that the risk has increased in recent years, mainly as dissatisfaction surrounding mass immigration grows, and the same media elite equates objections to that with Nazi philosophy. Therefore, Germany bans “hatred and insults” based on “racial, national, religious or ethnic background.” Those convicted face a five-year prison sentence.
