Arabic version: سجن رجل من هوبارت بسبب أداء التحية النازية

According to ABC News, a 43-year-old man who performed a Nazi gesture in a Hobart courtroom has been sentenced to two months’ imprisonment. It is understood Cameron John Matthews is the first person in Tasmania to serve jail time for the offence.

The court heard that police attended Liverpool Street in Hobart’s CBD shortly before midnight on August 23 after reports of a man behaving in a disorderly manner. Magistrate Catherine Geason said police described Matthews as acting erratically, referring to himself and officers as “skinheads” and performing a Nazi salute on multiple occasions. He was arrested and taken to Hobart Reception Prison.

Matthews appeared by video link in the Hobart Magistrates Court the following day. During that hearing, attended by multiple lawyers, a magistrate and two members of the public, he used abusive language towards the magistrate and performed a Nazi salute three times, the court heard.

Tasmania became the first state to ban Nazi symbols and salutes in 2023. Magistrate Geason said Matthews’s entrenched “racist and misogynistic” beliefs drove his conduct. She said the custodial term was required both as a personal deterrent and as a general deterrent against the offence.

A first offence for performing a Nazi gesture in Tasmania carries a maximum fine of $3,900 or up to three months in prison, with maximum penalties doubled for a repeat offence within six months. Matthews also received a one-month suspended sentence on two counts of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill while phoning Victims of Crime South Australia. His prison sentence was backdated to October, and he is due for release in December.