Teenager Defends Charge of Displaying Hezbollah Flag

Pro-Palestine supporters march towards Flinders Street Station during an organised protest in commemoration of the anniversary of the war on Gaza on Oct. 6, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Diego Fedele/Getty Images

A 19-year-old woman accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag at a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney on Sept. 29 will contest the allegations in court.

Sarah Mouhanna was charged with publicly displaying a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol following a protest in the Sydney city centre.

She appeared on Oct. 23 in Downing Centre Local Court, where her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf, and her bail was continued. The matter returns to court on Dec. 11.

The charge was brought by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are proscribed terrorist organisations in Australia.

Mouhanna’s lawyer, Hisham Karnib, declined to disclose the grounds on which he would defend the charge when he was questioned by media outside court.

“The matter is defended at this stage, and it will remain defended,” he said.

The protest where she allegedly committed the offence was much larger than the regular, weekly pro-Palestinian rallies held in Sydney, as it followed the expansion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into Hezbollah’s stronghold of southern Lebanon.

A rally held a week later, a day before the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, attracted an even larger crowd, estimated at 10,000 people. It went ahead despite a police bid to stop it from proceeding on public safety grounds.

Protesters Were Warned

Screens at the event warned protest attendees that displaying the Hezbollah flag, symbols or portraits of the group’s recently killed leader, Hassan Nasrallah, might be considered a criminal offence.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also warned people considering taking the flag of either group to a protest.

“They are symbols of terror,” Albanese said. “They are illegal, and they will not be tolerated here.”

Nevertheless, several people were seen wearing and displaying green and yellow, the colours of Hezbollah’s official flag. There were also signs featuring photos of Nasrallah, with many mourning the death of the longtime militia leader.

This display was criticised by Shadow Minister for Home Affairs James Paterson in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he said authorities should clamp down on those displaying the flag.

Sept. 29 saw thousands of Australians across the country rally in a “National Day of Action,” calling for a ceasefire to conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon.

Some 1,200 people were killed, and another 250 were abducted during Hamas’s attack on Israel.

More than 42,000 have been killed in subsequent Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.

AAP contributed to this story