Teen will fight charges of displaying Hezbollah flag at pro-Palestinian protest

A woman accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag at a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney will fight the charges in court.

Sarah Muhanna was charged with publicly displaying a symbol of a banned terrorist organization following a protest in central Sydney on September 29.

The 19-year-old appeared at Downing Center Local Court today as her lawyer entered a plea of ​​not guilty.

Mawhana remains on bail on the charge brought by the Commonwealth Attorney General.

Her lawyer, Hisham Karnib, refused to reveal on what grounds he would defend the charge when questioned by the media outside court.

“The case is being defended at this stage – and will continue to be defended,” he said.

Mohana was excused from appearing when her case returns to court on December 11.

The protests in late September were much larger than the regular weekly pro-Palestinian rallies that followed the spread of the conflict into Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Lebanon.

The rally, held a week later, the day before the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, drew an even larger crowd in Sydney, estimated at 10,000 people.

This followed a proposal from police to stop the event due to public safety concerns.

The screens warned protesters that displaying Hezbollah’s flag, symbols or portraits of the group’s recently assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah could be considered a criminal offense.

Several people were seen wearing the green and yellow colors of Hezbollah’s official flag.

Hezbollah and Hamas are proscribed terrorist organizations in Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese then issued a warning to anyone thinking of taking either group’s flag to the protest.

“They are symbols of terror,” he said.

“They are illegal and will not be tolerated here.”

About 1,200 people were killed and another 250 kidnapped when Hamas attacked Israel.

Subsequent Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed more than 42,000 people, according to Palestinian officials.