A man has been charged with displaying a banned terrorist symbol after he allegedly waved a Hezbollah flag during a protest.
The 36-year-old man is accused of displaying the Lebanese organisation’s flag during a protest in Melbourne’s CBD on 29 September.
The rally formed part of a national day of action for Gaza, with thousands of people also taking to the streets in Sydney and other cities in a series of ongoing protests that have largely remained peaceful.
A small group with Hezbollah flags — and some holding what appeared to be framed photographs of the terror group’s — joined the Melbourne event as speeches ended and people began to march.
Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli air strike in September amid escalating tensions in the region.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged the Ferntree Gully man on Friday with one count of publicly displaying a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Islamist political party and militant group formed in 1982 after Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon that year.
It is backed by Iran and leads a multi-party alliance that holds just under half the seats in Lebanon’s parliament.
Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, the US, Germany and the UK. The European Union lists only its military wing as a terrorist organisation.
However, Hezbollah itself makes no distinction between its political and military wings.
Specialist AFP operation Ardvarna is in September.
Thirteen people are under active investigation for displaying prohibited terrorist organisation symbols, with investigators seizing several phones and clothing depicting terrorist organisation symbols.
“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,” the AFP’s Counter Terrorism Commander Nick Read said.
Officers have spent more than 1,100 hours investigating the incidents, including reviewing at least 100 hours of CCTV and police body-worn camera footage.
“While it is important the AFP provides community reassurance and deterrence through education, action is the greatest deterrence,” Read said.
Further charges are expected to be laid against other alleged offenders.
Australia designated Hezbollah a terrorist organisation in 2021 and, in January this year, outlawed the public display of prohibited Nazi symbols and symbols used by banned terrorist organisations, including the Hezbollah flag.