SYDNEY, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have commenced an investigation after a letter threatening violence was sent to a Sydney mosque.
The letter, which was delivered to the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's southwest suburbs on Thursday, contained death threats against Middle Eastern communities as well as Indigenous Australians and political figures.
The Islamophobia Register Australia said in a statement that the letter made direct calls for murder and public violence on Australia Day, which will be celebrated on Jan. 26.
NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said at a press conference on Friday that an investigation has been opened into the letter.
"The content is absolutely abhorrent," he said. "We are working diligently and expeditiously to look at who has authored this document and who is disseminating it."
McFadden said that around 1,500 police officers would be deployed across Sydney next Monday. ■
