Arabic version: رجل من أديلايد يتجنب السجن في جرائم تتعلق برموز نازية

According to ABC News, Heath Duke, 20, has avoided jail after pleading guilty to 16 counts of using a Nazi symbol or salute. The Adelaide Magistrates Court placed the South Australian man on a two-year good behaviour bond, recorded no conviction and banned him from accessing social media platforms for two years.

The court heard police identified 97 public Telegram posts containing Nazi symbols that Duke shared between February and April. On May 25, he attended a McDonald’s outlet at Collinswood, where he worked at the time, wearing a Nazi uniform featuring swastikas. Witnesses observed him speaking German and rehearsing a speech, the prosecutor told the court.

A witness reported feeling that Duke might harm somebody that night. When police later went to his home, they found the uniform and a large Nazi flag visible from a shared driveway. The court also heard Duke breached a bail condition last month by using another social-media account to post material said to have intended to glorify Hitler.

Duke appeared by video link and had spent 11 days in custody. The court heard he had a long-standing autism diagnosis, significant loneliness and a fixation on extreme right-wing beliefs. Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos noted he had no prior criminal history and said she believed the behaviour would not be repeated with the right rehabilitation. She also said there was a correlation between Duke stopping ADHD medication and the offending recurring.

Magistrate Kossiavelos described Duke’s conduct as unacceptable and told him he held political beliefs not shared in the community for good reason. When asked whether he accepted his actions were outrageous, Duke replied that he did not want to break the law. The magistrate said she would extend maximum leniency in imposing the bond.