Contractor suspended for neo-Nazi ties

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – A woman with alleged links to an international neo-Nazi organization has been suspended from a major multinational company contracted by the Australian Department of Defense.

Nicole Hanley, a support manager for Thales, which specializes in high technology for military defense systems, is alleged to have been involved with Blood & Honor, a group that promotes neo-Nazi rock concerts.

The claim was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald this week after it found a database on Wikileaks, a Web site that publishes leaked documents.

Along with the database of private messages between Blood & Honor members was allegedly a diary of Hanley’s trip last year to Europe, during when she visited Adolf Hitler’s birthplace, attended neo-Nazi concerts and bought Nazi memorabilia, according to the Herald.

"Hearing/joining in with so many hundreds of people chanting ‘Sieg Heil’ together is something that will stay with me forever," she reportedly wrote.

Hanley also allegedly hosted international Blood & Honor activists at her Canberra home, according to the information on Wikileaks.

When the allegations about Hanley were revealed to Thales officials by the Herald, it immediately suspended her, pending an investigation. When contacted, Hanley declined to speak to the newspaper.

Blood & Honor was founded in London in the late 1970s to promote neo-Nazi music. It has since spawned chapters around the world. A pro-Hitler concert is being organized by the Perth chapter to mark Anzac Day on April 25.

Meanwhile, alleged Nazi war criminal Charles Zentai has avoided jail even though his lawyers were unable to produce relevant medical papers Tuesday in the Federal Court in Perth.

John Gilmour was granted a stay until May 11. The final decision on whether Zentai will be surrendered to Hungarian authorities, who want to try him on one count of murder from 1944, rests with the Australian government.