The Ethnic Community Council of Western Australia has welcomed the jail term imposed on a Perth man who posted a racist video online.
Brendon Lee O'Connell of Maylands was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of six offences under Western Australia's racial vilification laws.
He posted a 15 minute video on YouTube which showed him insulting a Jewish man outside a shopping centre and telling Jews their days were numbered.
O'Connell is the first person in WA to be convicted under the laws.
The Council's Maria Saraceni says she hopes the tough penalty acts as a deterrent.
"Obviously where there is a penalty such as imprisonment, it has an immediate impact on the person who has been found guilty, but there is a wider message for the community at large," she said.
Since the sentencing O'Connell's supporters have posted an attack on the judge, the judicial system and the Jewish community, on his blog.
This prosecution was a bad mistake by Jewry.
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