Anti-Israel vandalism accused has ‘Hezbollah tattoos’

One of the men accused of torching and spray-painting cars in an anti-Israel vandalism spree might have been ideologically motivated, a court has heard.

One of the men facing charges over an alleged anti-Israel vandalism attack has neck and throat tattoos for declared terrorist group Hezbollah, a court has heard.

Mohammed Farhat and Thomas Stojanovski are accused of carrying out the vandalism spree on Wellington St in Woollahra, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, in November.

The men, both aged 20, allegedly set fire to one parked car and graffitied nine others with slogans including “f*** Israel” and “PKK coming”.

PKK is an abbreviation for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered a terrorist group by the Turkish and Australian governments.

During a bail hearing for Stojanovski on Friday, defence barrister Peter Lange attempted to shift the motivation for the attack onto Farhat by citing what police allege are his Hezbollah tattoos.

“It demonstrates, at least on the part of the alleged co-offender an interest in such topics, if nothing else,” Mr Lange told the NSW Supreme Court.

The lawyer suggested his own client had no ideological motivation for the attack and was “presumably immature” and “going along”.

Both men face multiple counts of destroying or damaging property.

Justice Julia Lonergan noted the vandalism charges levelled against Stojanovski did not reflect the seriousness of the alleged offending.

“It’s a hate crime, but the charges don’t correspond to it being a hate crime,” she said.

The graffiti came amid a spate of antisemitic incidents in Sydney, including an arson attempt on a synagogue, the targeting of a prominent Jewish leader’s former home and the discovery of an explosives-filled caravan on the city’s outskirts.

State and federal police have set up major task forces to probe the crimes, some of which investigators say might have been carried out by “criminals for hire” acting on behalf of offshore actors.

Crown prosecutor Diana Paterson asked the court to take into account the “absolutely objectionable and distasteful nature” of the acts in Stojanovski’s case.

“It does have that underlying and overwhelming level of abhorrence attached to it,” she said.

Justice Lonergan agreed the acts could have a dehumanising effect, cause fear, or encourage others to act in a similar way.

But she said the law under which the men were charged did not differentiate based on the presence of hate speech.

“What I’ve still got is a relatively young man,” she said.

“He’s 20, but an immature 20 by the sound of it.”

Ms Paterson said the question of whether the charges would remain in the local court or be escalated to a higher jurisdiction, where greater penalties could apply, remained a live issue and was being “actively considered”.

The vandalised vehicles were parked in streets surrounding the Turkish Consulate General.

Police spent days hunting down two “masked individuals” who were captured on CCTV running from the scene.

A cast on Stojanovski’s wrist at the time of the attack allegedly assisted in identifying and contributed to a strong case against him.

A decision whether bail will be granted was reserved until Tuesday.