Australian PM's nephew fined after racism protest

Van Thanh Rudd, the son of the prime minister's brother Malcolm Rudd, and another man were protesting a recent spate of violence against Indians in Melbourne when police broke up the demonstration and told them to move along. They were each issued a 234 Australian dollar ($210) ticket for offensive behavior, Victoria state police said.

There has been a highly publicized spate of street violence against Indian students in recent months in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. Australian police say that while some attacks on Indians are racially motivated, many are ordinary crimes.

Earlier this month, Australia condemned an Indian newspaper cartoon that depicted an Australian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The cartoon, published in New Delhi's Mail Today, satirizes Victoria police for saying there is no evidence the recent stabbing murder of an Indian-born Australian resident in Melbourne was racially motivated.

Van Thanh Rudd told Australian Broadcasting Corp. the protest was also meant to call attention to the plight of asylum seekers who are turned away from Australian shores.

The prime minister's office declined to comment.

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