NSW Police have revealed that nine people were charged following the protest over Isaac Herzog’s Australian visit at Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday night.
The police — who have been under intense scrutiny over their handling of the event — said in a press statement earlier today that the arrests occurred when a section of the thousands-strong crowd “attempted to push past officers with the intention of marching”.
Those actions came despite a court decision handed down just ahead of the protest yesterday that blocked it from moving through the CBD.
“When participants failed to comply, officers moved to disperse the crowd, including anyone who had stopped and was blocking pedestrian access,” NSW Police said, adding that “a number of scuffles” broke out amongst protestors not following police orders.
Of the 27 people arrested, nine were charged with assault or public order offences. The charges range from behaving offensively in public to resisting arrest and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
“Officers are continuing to investigate the actions of protestors with investigators reviewing body camera footage and social media vision from the event,” NSW Police said.
It comes as NSW Premier Chris Minns defended the police operation during multiple media appearances this morning after footage of officers’ actions was widely circulated online.
One clip appeared to show police punching a man who had his hands held up, while another appeared to show officers forcibly dispersing a Muslim prayer group.
“[Police] did everything possible to avoid confrontation,” Minns said today. “I’m not going to throw police under the bus”.
The premier accused protestors of “repeatedly” breaching police lines and of “running amok” during what was “in effect, the middle of a riot”.
Palestine Action Group, which organised the event, was among those to respond to police’s actions, saying it “utterly condemns the brutal attack” on protestors.
“The police, Chris Minns and the whole political establishment should hang their heads in shame for this disgusting attack on democracy and freedom of political expression,” the group wrote on social media.
Thousands of protestors assembled last night to protest Herzog’s visit, which was framed on one side as an act of solidarity after the Bondi massacre and on the other as an outrage given the Israeli President’s Israeli President’s implicit involvement in “incit[ing] the commission of genocide”, per a United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry, a claim he strongly denies.
More nationwide protests are planned for this week as Herzog’s four-day Australian visit continues.
Lead image: Getty Images
The post 9 People Charged By NSW Police Over Involvement In Herzog Protest In Sydney appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
