Man charged over Sydney messages

A Sydney man has been charged with sending SMS messages to incite violence in the days following the city's race riots, writes BBC news.

The 33-year-old man - the first to be charged with such an offence - faces a maximum three-year jail term. Police say they expect to make similar arrests in the coming days.

Thousands of white men attacked people of Middle Eastern appearance on a beach in Sydney on 11 December, apparently in revenge for an attack on two men. Violence by both sides continued for two nights, and SMS inciting further unrest were sent around Sydney and other areas of Australia.

The suspect is believed to have forwarded messages calling for people to meet at two Sydney beaches last Sunday. He has been released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on 1 February.

Police Commander Dennis Bray explained that detectives and phone companies were working hard to trace many other text messages sent about the riots. "We've been working in the last week in gathering and analyzing information we've obtained from the carriers, and this fellow was identified as one fellow that had been sending messages and we've acted," he said.

Related articles:
-- Australia. SMS sentences 'too harsh
-- Authors of racial SMS face a $5,000 fine and 6 months in jail.'

Regine | 4:29 PM | |
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