Australian State Supreme Court Upholds Prison Sentence For Anti-Semitic Statements and Internet Postings

In O'Connell v. State of Western Australia, (Sup. Ct. W. Aust., May 4, 2012), the Supreme Court of Western Australia upheld the conviction and 3-year sentence (with eligibility for parole) of Australian Brendon O'Connell for harassing a member of a racial group and for promoting animosity toward a racial group. The convictions stemmed from anti-Semitic statements that defendant published on the Internet, as well as statements made directly to Elliot Keyser who was president of the Western Australian Union of Jewish Students. O'Connell engaged in a heated confrontation with Keyser during a protest by Friends of Palestine over a supermarket's sale of Jaffa oranges imported from Israel. O'Connell then posted video footage online accusing Jews, in vivid language, of killing anyone who stood up to them. O'Connell was also prosecuted for blog postings he placed online after he was charged in connection with the video footage.  JTA reports that the prison sentence is the first under Western Australia's racial vilification laws. O'Connell had gone on a hunger strike in an attempt to get the court to hear his appeal.