Ex-National Front teen faces charges

The Ponsonby mosque after the attack.

The two youths accused of desecrating Auckland mosques after the London bombings are former members of a white supremacist group, the New Zealand National Front.

The pair have made a number of court appearances since the July attacks on the mosques but name suppression was only lifted yesterday for Jason Paul Molloy.

Molloy, 18, was the first teenager to be charged with the vandalism of Muslim places of worship around Auckland after the blasts on London trains and a bus.

He had been given interim name suppression so he could inform his family of the charges. His appearance was yesterday excused in the Manukau District Court because he is living in Nelson.

Molloy is charged with seven counts of intentional damage to Muslim places of worship with Ross Baumgarten, an 18-year-old salesman of Mairangi Bay, who appeared in court yesterday and has never sought name suppression.

It was revealed in court that Baumgarten's bail conditions required him not to associate with Molloy or any members of the National Front, which has denied any involvement with the mosque attacks. Baumgarten was a member of the National Front at the time of the attacks but Molloy had earlier resigned.

Muslim places of worship around Auckland had their windows smashed and were defaced with graffiti reading "R. I. P. London".

The pair, who have not entered pleas to the charge, will appear in court again next month.

NZ National Front

* Claimed membership: over 500.

* Philosophy: describes itself as New Zealand's leading organisation concerned with the preservation and advancement of unique European culture.