Australia detains South African man Matthew Gruter, cancelling his visa for participating in a neo-Nazi rally with antisemitic slogans in Sydney
SYDNEY: Australian authorities have detained a South African man after cancelling his visa for participating in a neo-Nazi protest.
Matthew Gruter was among approximately 60 dark-clothed men who protested outside the New South Wales parliament building earlier this month.
Protesters shouted antisemitic slogans and displayed a banner reading “Abolish the Jewish lobby” during the November 8 rally.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke cancelled Gruter’s visa on Monday, with Border Force officials taking him into immigration detention early Tuesday.
The South African will remain detained until he obtains a flight out of Australia or is formally deported.
“If you’re on a visa, you’re a guest in Australia,” Burke told reporters.
“If someone turns up for the purposes of just abusing people and wrecking the place and damaging the cohesion, we can ask them to leave, and Australia has asked him to leave.”
Burke stated that Gruter has limited grounds for appeal and is expected to leave the country “very soon”.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Gruter is a civil engineer who moved to Sydney about three years ago and was a senior member of Australia’s largest neo-Nazi group.
“The bottom line here is we’re setting the standard for Australia,” Burke said.
“We’re setting the standard that multicultural Australia and modern Australia are the same thing.”
Australia’s intelligence services have warned of increasing numbers being drawn toward neo-Nazi ideologies as extremist groups intensify recruitment efforts.
The country banned the Nazi salute and the display or trade of Nazi symbols last year. – AFP
