Dramatic Day One in Court for O’Connell
The trial of Perth man Brendan O’Connell who is accused of posting an antisemitic video on YuoTube got off to a dramatic start yesterday.
Brendan O'Connell with text - YouTube still
Appearing in the Perth District Court, the 38-yr-old fired his lawyer and appeared for himself. He told Judge Henry Wisbey that he should be tried for treason and that it was a kangaroo court.
The seven racial hatred charges relate to an incident in South Perth in 2009 when O’Connell videoed himself leaving his home and making a trip to a supermarket in South Perth at which a Friends of Palestine protest was being staged against the sale of Israeli fruit.
O’Connell videoed a verbal altercation he had with a young Jewish man, Stanley Keyser, which he later posted on the popular web site YouTube.
Media reports say that he had about a dozen supporters in court. A J-Wire reader attending court said: “They were continually interjecting and two were ejected from the court room. The court saw the actual video and it affected one journalist to the point that she left the court room sobbing.”
The court heard that O’Connell called Keyser “a racist Jew” saying “you are a racist homicidal maniac”.
Keyser tried to walk away but O’Connell followed him and a scuffle ensued in which Keyser was hot on the face.
The trial continues today.
