Waving Hezbollah flags at protest does not amount to an offense, Australian police say

The display of terrorist symbols is not enough to make arrests, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said after protestors overtook a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne, where demonstrators waved Hezbollah flags and held photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Australian paper The Age reported Monday.

According to The Age, the Sunday rally was part of a ‘national day of action for Gaza,’ which saw thousands of protesters across the world calling for a cease-fire and end to the Israel-Hamas war.

The group joined the 600-start march at the State Library in Melbourne’s CBD as speeches ended and people began to march.

Victoria Police announced that public displays of terrorist symbols were a Commonwealth offense and that there were no arrests from the protest. 

“Appropriate referrals will be made to Australian Federal Police as the lead agency concerning prohibited symbols,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

Despite this, an AFP spokesman said on Monday, “The mere public display of a prohibited symbol on its own does not meet the threshold of a Commonwealth offense.”

The spokesman then clarified that for the act to be considered an offense, the terrorist symbol must be displayed under the circumstance where the conduct involved spreading ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, inciting others to intimidate or offend a person, or advocating or inciting others to offend.

“The AFP is aware that protest activity and physical demonstrations can be used to amplify the messaging of extremist groups,” the spokesman said.

“The criminal code sets out very specific elements that must be met in order to charge an individual with a terrorism offense.”

While police did not have the power to take down any symbols themselves, they could direct the owners to remove them. The spokesman explained that failure to comply with an officer's order was a criminal offense. 

According to The Age, pro-Palestine rallies have been held weekly in Gaza for most of the past year. However, the organizers clarified to the Australian Associated Press that the group was not affiliated with those supporting Hezbollah.

Political leaders respond

Various local Australian political leaders responded to the event and police statements.

“Victorians will be deeply disturbed by displays of support for a listed terrorist organization, Hezbollah, across Melbourne and Sydney,” Victoria’s Opposition Leader John Pesutto said in a statement on Sunday night, calling for action on the protesters, saying his coalition would continue to stand against antisemitism.

“Publicly displaying the symbols of a listed terrorist organization is a crime, as is inciting violence on the basis of religious belief. Neither must ever be tolerated in Victoria, Pesutto said.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke threatened to consider cancelling visas for people supporting such groups in a statement made on Sunday.

“Any indication of support for a terrorist organization is unequivocally condemned. It draws the immediate attention of our security agencies,” he said, “I have made clear from day one that I will consider refusing and canceling visas for anyone who seeks to incite discord in Australia.”