Neo-Nazi leader James Saleam was sentenced Wednesday to three-and-a-half years in prison by a Sydney court for ordering the 1989 attempt to murder African National Congress representative Eddie Funde.
Saleam, who just completed a prison term for insurance fraud, formerly headed the National Action group, which the court described as “an extreme right-wing organization” which resorts to “political thuggery.”
Formed in the early 1980s, National Action spawned a welter of neo-Nazi and racist groups, including the Australian Nationalist Movement, which terrorized Jews and Asians in Western Australia until its leaders were jailed last year.
Another offshoot is the Australian People’s Congress, an anti-Semitic group active in the state of Victoria.
After listening to evidence for 10 days, the jury took only an hour to convict Saleam.
Witnesses testified that National Action incited two Skinhead youths to fire a shotgun at Funde’s home. Funde said he found pellets near his baby’s crib.
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