‘Viable’ case against accused anti-Israel vandal
A young man accused of being complicit in an anti-Israel graffiti attack only held a light while his accomplice sprayed hateful slogans, a court has heard.
Graffiti in Wooollahra
Thomas Stojanovski, 20, is one of two men accused of the antisemitic vandalism spree in the suburb of Woollahra, home to a large Jewish community, on November 21.
He faces 12 counts of destroying or damaging property and one count of disguising his face with intent to commit an indictable offence.
At a NSW Supreme Court bail hearing on Friday, Justice Julia Lonergan said prosecutors needed to persuade her there was an unacceptable risk if she released the relatively young man on bail.
The court was played a short CCTV clip of the alleged vandalism that showed two people in hooded jumpers and one painting graffiti on a wall and a table while the other shined a torch from a phone.
There was no evidence Stojanovski held a spray can, but he was accused of providing the light for his alleged accomplice to write “hate slogans”, the court was told.
The pair allegedly set fire to one parked car and graffitied nine others with slogans including “f*** Israel” and “PKK coming” during the incident.
PKK is an abbreviation for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered a terrorist group by the Turkish and Australian governments.
The Woollahra incident came amid a spate of antisemitic incidents in Sydney, including the attempted arson of a synagogue, and a graffiti and fire-bombing attack on a prominent Jewish leader’s former home.
Stojanovski’s barrister Peter Lange said it was not inevitable his client would be convicted, adding prosecutors had a viable but not overwhelming case.
“One must look at the individual role by the individual person,” he said.
A jail term was not inevitable and without bail Stojanovski faced a minimum nine months on remand without access to programs normally offered to sentenced prisoners, Mr Lange added.
“That’s a long time for a young person to be in custody,” Justice Lonergan said.
Stojanovski attended the hearing via an audio-visual link from Sydney’s Parklea prison and showed little emotion during the proceeding.
His alleged accomplice Mohammed Farhat had Hezbollah tattoos but Stojanovski had no ideological motivation for the attack, the court was told previously.
By: Sam McKeith/AAP
