Ashamed rioter had not seen 'anti-Islam' film

HE was part of the the ugly scenes of violence and chaos on the streets of Sydney, sparked by an internet video considered to be a slur on Islam. But a court heard yesterday that at least one of the Muslim men charged over last month's Hyde Park protest had not even seen the YouTube clip he claimed to have been so offended by.

Benjamin Homan, 23, told the Downing Centre Local Court he was "embarrassed and ashamed" by his behaviour during the September 15 riot, where police officers were pelted with bottles, rocks and timber.

Homan, who pleaded guilty to affray and resisting police, was a "recent convert" to Islam, his lawyer Zaid Khan told the court.

Mr Khan said that had "left him impressionable and vulnerable to some of the more extreme elements that were present on the day (of the riots)". (continue reading...)