AhlulBayt News Agency: The Shia Muslim Council of Australia, in a statement, has voiced alarm over reports and footages of police assaulting peaceful demonstrators.
The statement followed protests held in response to the visit of Isaac Herzog, president of the Israeli regime, who began a four-day trip to Australia on Monday, starting at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
The full text reads as follows:
SMCA Statement on Police Violence at Sydney Protest
The Shia Muslim Council of Australia (SMCA) condemns the excessive and unprecedented use of force by police against protestors in Sydney yesterday. The scenes from footage shared by observers are shocking and sickening.
Premier Chris Minns stated that police had to prevent a march. Assuming his statement is accurate, the legal powers given to police in such situations extend to issuing directions and dispersing individuals. However, footage circulating publicly shows protestors being body-slammed, repeatedly punched, pepper-sprayed, and physically restrained with disproportionate violence. This includes individuals who were peacefully offering prayers in the Town Hall forecourt, and elderly individuals who did not seem to be resisting or acting in a violent manner at all. The unwarranted violence captured on public footage makes clear that the force used was disproportionate to the circumstances.
We are particularly disturbed by reports that elected officials were subjected to physical force during the protest. Greens MP Abigail Boyd has publicly stated that she was punched and sustained a neck injury, and Councillor Ahmed Ouf was pepper sprayed by police. The use of force against elected representatives significantly escalates the seriousness of these events and demands urgent, independent scrutiny.
Assistant Commissioner McKenna described elements of the crowd as "wanting to act in a violent and offensive manner." Publicly assigning violent intent to protestors is a grave assertion. If that characterisation informed the police response, the evidentiary basis for it must be made public. Premier Minns has emphasised the importance of "context" in assessing what occurred. If police assert that violence justified their response, the relevant body camera footage and operational recordings should be released. Transparency is essential.
Peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic right. Any departure from proportionate and lawful crowd management standards risks undermining public confidence in law enforcement, especially when juxtaposed with the level of protection and respect afforded to someone representing a state accused of genocide and major war crimes. We support calls for an independent investigation by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission into the police force's use of violence.
Immediate transparency to the public is now imperative.
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