Latest news with #protestRights
News.com.au
15-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas to fight charges over anti-Israel protest in Sydney
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas will fight charges over an anti-Israel protest in Sydney that left her with a bloodied eye after police confirmed they were not dropping any further charges. The former Grayndler candidate was involved in a protest picketing SEC Plating in Belmore in Sydney's southwest on June 27 following reports the company provided jet components used by the Israel Defence Forces. Police issued a move-on order to about 60 people, but a scuffle broke out when some failed to comply with directions. Ms Thomas was later pictured with a swollen eye and dried blood on her face following the protest, claiming on social media that she may have suffered permanent vision damage and had undergone multiple surgeries. She was subsequently charged with hindering or resisting arrest and two counts of refusing to comply with all directions to disperse. An additional charge, related to the rarely used emergency anti-protest powers introduced after the 2005 Cronulla riots, was earlier dropped by police. Appearing before Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday, Ms Thomas's lawyer, Stewart O'Connell, told magistrate Glenn Walsh he believed there would be 'an application in relation to at least one of the charges'. Instead, the police prosecutor confirmed officers were seeking pleas in relation to all three charges. Pleas of not guilty were subsequently entered to all three matters. The court was told the NSW Director of Public Prosecution had taken carriage. Ms Thomas was one of five people to appear before the court on Tuesday charged over the protest. Rising Tide organiser Zachary Edward Jaworowski Schofield, Brandon Eid, Shane Reside and Holly Zhang all had their matters heard on Tuesday, with Mr O'Connell entering pleas of not guilty to each. The court was told the matters would be referred to the NSW DPP because of the 'seriousness and media interest'. In the matters of Mr Reside and Ms Zhang, the court was told two witnesses would be called, with body-worn video to be produced for the hearing but not any CCTV. Mr Schofield is expected to return before the court later on Tuesday for a bail application. NSW Greens call for Premier to take action In a statement, lawyer Peter O'Brien on Monday called for the charges against Ms Thomas to be dropped, claiming he was 'satisfied' the former Greens candidate had been 'punched in the face' by police. 'My office has now viewed all available footage of the incident giving rise to the moments leading to the injury to Ms Thomas's eye on the 27th of June, and I am satisfied that Ms Thomas was punched in the face by a male police officer, causing extensive and serious injury to her eye,' Mr O'Brien said. He said Ms Thomas was an 'innocent victim of gratuitous police brutality' and he condemned the actions of police as 'completely and entirely unjustifiable'. He said Ms Thomas would be filing a civil claim for compensation against the state over her 'apprehension, injury, detention, and prosecution'. Ms Thomas had earlier claimed her injuries were the result of anti-protest laws introduced by the NSW Labor government this year following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks and an explosives-laden caravan found in Dural in Sydney's northwest that police later said was part of a fake terrorism plot. The laws outlaw many forms of protest outside places of worship and introduce harsh new penalties. They are subject to a constitutional challenge in the NSW Supreme Court, launched on behalf of the Palestine Action Group. On Tuesday, NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson called on Police Minister Yasmin Catley to stand down Assistant Police Commissioner Brett McFadden after reports he falsely claimed he reviewed police body-cam footage from the incident involving Ms Thomas and found no evidence of misconduct. 'NSW Police have misled the public, ignored evidence and made excuses for violence against women – and Labor Premier Chris Minns hasn't uttered a word against them,' Ms Higginson said on Instagram. 'The inconsistent statements from NSW Police make it clear that all charges against Hannah and her fellow protesters should be dropped. 'We will see more violence against peaceful protests unless NSW Labor urgently repeal their draconian anti-protest laws.'
CBC
24-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
CCLA launches Charter challenge against bubble zone protest bylaw in Vaughan, Ont.
Social Sharing The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is launching a constitutional challenge against Vaughan's bubble zone protest bylaw — one of several in Ontario that restricts protests around places of worship, schools and child-care centres. The bylaw, which passed in June last year, bans organizing or participating in a "nuisance demonstration" within 100 metres of the property line of any vulnerable social infrastructure, which also includes hospitals and care facilities. "Vaughan's bylaw punitively prohibits an extremely wide range of peaceful protests," said Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the CCLA's fundamental freedoms program, at a news conference Tuesday. "It severely infringes upon freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association in a manner that is not justified in a free and democratic society." CBC Toronto has reached out to the Vaughan mayor's office for comment. The bylaw defines a nuisance demonstration as one or more people "protesting against something or expressing views on any issue … whether it is intended or not, that is likely, on an objective standard, to cause a reasonable person to be intimidated." This means the person is either concerned for their safety or security, or they are unable to access vulnerable social infrastructure, the bylaw reads. 'This is not a narrow limit on free speech' Toronto, Brampton and Oakville have passed similar bylaws in recent months. In May, Ottawa city council directed its staff to develop its own bubble zone bylaw. But the CCLA chose to launch its challenge against Vaughan because it was the first municipality in Ontario to pass such a bylaw, and it also has "extremely broad prohibitions," said Daniel Goudge, lawyer at Stockwoods LLP, who is representing the association. WATCH | Toronto passed bubble zone bylaw in May after hours of debate in city council: Toronto passes bylaw to restrict protests around places of worship, schools 1 month ago Duration 3:55 Under Toronto's bylaw, vulnerable institutions can apply for a 50-metre buffer zone around them, which will last for a year. But Vaughan's bylaw does not have an application-based system and its buffer zone is double the size. Vaughan also imposes a maximum fine of $100,000 for anyone found guilty of an offence under the bylaw, while Toronto is imposing a maximum $5,000 fine for people who refuse to leave a protected area. "This is not a narrow limit on free speech," Goudge said. He said Vaughan's bylaw gives enforcement officers — which include municipal enforcement officers and police — the power to decide what is considered acceptable protest speech. Protests outside a school opposing education system cuts, for example, could now be prohibited, he said. Bylaw passed after protests outside synagogue Vaughan's bubble zone bylaw was passed following several demonstrations that took place in Thornhill outside a synagogue. Demonstrators said they gathered to decry a real estate event that marketed occupied land in the West Bank, and counter-protesters showed up in response to a call-out from leaders of the synagogue. Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca proposed the bylaw in March 2024, saying at the time that "large, ugly protests" near synagogues and schools in Thornhill were "deeply, deeply concerning to our residents." McNicoll said everyone in Canada is entitled to physical safety, and police can and should intervene to protect public safety. But she said police already have broad powers to fulfill their mandate and did not need an additional bylaw. "We know too well how punitive laws initially passed in the name of protecting vulnerable communities can easily be co-opted to suppress marginalized voices striving to challenge the status quo," she said. Stodge said the CCLA filed a notice of application with the court on Monday, and it is now in the process of being issued. He said the notice will be delivered to the City of Vaughan on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera
03-06-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Is free speech under attack in the US?
In a country that prides itself on democracy, freedom of speech, and the right to protest, a chilling question is emerging: Who gets to speak, and who is being silenced? More than 1,000 international students and recent graduates across the United States have reportedly had their visas revoked or their legal status altered. Meanwhile, American citizens have faced detentions at airports and border crossings, been interrogated about their political beliefs, and had their phones searched for content against President Donald Trump. Are we witnessing a quiet erosion of First Amendment rights? Presenter: Stefanie Dekker Guests: Nora Benavidez – Civil rights lawyer Conor Fitzpatrick – Senior lawyer at Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Tamara Turki – Student at Columbia University
