SYDNEY, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A 19-year-old from Sydney has been charged by authorities over an alleged death threat to Israeli President Isaac Herzog ahead of his visit to Australia.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Thursday that the man was arrested on Wednesday and charged with allegedly making an online threat towards a foreign head of state.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that the head of state was Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is set to arrive in Australia on Sunday for a five-day visit after being invited by the federal government following the antisemitic Bondi Beach terror attack.
The AFP said in a statement that officers from its newly established National Security Investigations (NSI) team began investigating the alleged threat against Herzog on a social media platform in January.
A search warrant was executed at a home on Wednesday where the 19-year-old was arrested and later charged with one count of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
Herzog's visit to Australia is expected to be met with widespread protests led by pro-Palestine activists.
Chris Sidoti, a leading Australian human rights lawyer who served as a commissioner on a United Nations independent commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, told the ABC on Thursday morning that Herzog should be arrested on arrival in Australia for inciting genocide.
A September report from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
Responding to Sidoti, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told ABC radio that the government had considered legal advice about Australia's obligations to international law before inviting Herzog to visit. ■
