SYDNEY: An Australian teenager has been charged for allegedly making online death threats against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, ahead of his upcoming visit to Australia.
The 19-year-old man allegedly made the threats on a social media platform last month “toward a foreign head of state and internationally protected person,” the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
Police did not name the intended target of the alleged threats, but Australian media widely reported they were directed at Herzog. The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper also reported the teenager allegedly made threats against US President Donald Trump.
He was refused police bail and will appear before a court in Sydney on Thursday. Police said a mobile phone and equipment for making or using drugs were seized during a search at a home in Sydney on Wednesday.
President Herzog is due to arrive in Australia on Sunday for a five-day visit, following an invitation by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach in December.
He is expected to meet survivors and the families of the victims of the shooting at Sydney’s Bondi beach on December 14 at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, which killed 15 people.
Herzog’s visit has drawn opposition from pro-Palestine groups, with protests planned in major Australian cities.
Police in the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, on Tuesday extended restrictions on protests in parts of the city ahead of Herzog’s visit, citing “significant animosity” from some groups.
The Palestine Action Group has called on supporters to attend a rally in Sydney on Monday, urging people to march to the New South Wales state parliament in what is described as a “mass, peaceful gathering.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Herzog would receive standard security arrangements given to all visiting foreign leaders.
“He will be a welcomed and honored guest,” Marles told ABC News on Thursday.
Australia charges teenager over alleged death threats to Israeli President Herzog
https://arab.news/5kep9
Australia charges teenager over alleged death threats to Israeli President Herzog
- Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Herzog would receive standard security arrangements given to all visiting foreign leaders
Senegal ex-minister faces $2.7m embezzlement probe
- At least five of Sall’s ministers have since been referred to the west African country’s High Court of Justice
- The National Assembly voted on Friday to refer former communications and digital affairs minister Moussa Bocar Thiam to the court
DAKAR: Senegal’s parliament on Friday referred a former minister to a special court for allegedly embezzling millions in taxpayers’ cash, in the latest case targeting a member of ex-president Macky Sall’s government.
Since unseating Sall in March 2024, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko have repeatedly accused their predecessors of mismanaging the public purse, pledging to bring them to justice.
At least five of Sall’s ministers have since been referred to the west African country’s High Court of Justice, which is responsible for trying former members of government over crimes committed while in office.
The National Assembly, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Faye and Sonko’s ruling Pastef party, voted on Friday to refer former communications and digital affairs minister Moussa Bocar Thiam to the court over a contract for a digital technology park.
According to a parliamentary report, the contract’s execution showed “serious indications and presumptions of a nature to justify criminal proceedings against Minister Moussa Bocar Thiam for criminal conspiracy, embezzlement of public funds to the tune of 1,476,482,766 CFA francs ($2.7 million) and money laundering.”
The ex-minister replied on social media to denounce the process as “without legal basis,” adding that he would fight the matter in court.
After a hearing, the High Court of Justice’s investigating committee will decide whether to bring Thiam to trial. The tribunal’s rulings cannot be appealed or reviewed.
