A former Brisbane councillor claims he has been repeatedly targeted and harassed by police officers “partly” as a result of racism, after protest-related charges against him were dropped for a second time.
Jonathan Sriranganathan, then a Greens councillor, was arrested last October as he stood on a public footpath outside the Land Forces Weapons Expo at the Convention Centre in South Brisbane.
Sriranganathan said he was taking part in a peaceful protest and had not blocked roads or access to the building. But Queensland police service officers charged him with trespass and obstructing police.
Police dropped the charges this month. Sriranganathan, who announced his resignation as a councillor in March, said it was the second time he had been arrested, only for police to abandon the case.
“Police have demonstrated a consistent pattern of unlawfully arresting me and targeting me, which reflects a broader trend of police abusing their powers to suppress peaceful protest and criminalise activists,” Sriranganathan said.
“I’ve been repeatedly dragged through the watch house and treated like shit, but I’m willing to forgive all of that if the police minister will simply give me a public apology.”
A QPS spokesperson said: “Charges against a 35-year-old Woolloongabba man, including one count each of trespass and obstruct police, have been withdrawn as a result of a key witness being unable to give evidence on medical grounds.
“This matter remains under investigation by the Ethical Standards Command and as such no further comment will be provided at this time.”
This comes after Queensland police dropped a charge against Sriranganathan in 2020 after he was arrested for allegedly failing to heed a police direction during a refugee rights protest.
Separately, recordings leaked to Guardian Australia from the Brisbane city watch house captured an officer discussing the protest and describing Sriranganathan as “a piece of crap and a halfwit”.
“I think the police’s heavy-handed treatment of me compared to other white politicians who attend protests is partly a result of racism,” Sriranganathan said. “It’s fair to say that I would have lasted longer in my role as councillor if not for the consistent police harassment and abuses of power.”
Police also withdrew a fine issued to Sriranganathan in 2021 after alleging he had run a yellow light on a bicycle while riding home from an Invasion Day rally.
The officer who fined him had been criticising the then councillor on social media for about 18 months but said in his report that he had not identified Sriranganathan until after he pulled him over.
The councillor has long rallied against local government laws that he claims are suppressing people’s right to protest. Sriranganathan was found guilty last August over a 15-minute, four-person protest over the cashless welfare debit card at Queen Street mall in Brisbane’s city centre.
The Greens MP for Maiwar, Michael Berkman, said the QPS had a problem with “systemic misconduct”.
“For police to so blatantly target an elected representative, including arresting him on multiple occasions without any evidence or basis, should be of grave concern to every single person who cares about democracy in this state,” he said.
Berkman is calling for the government to establish an independent, civilian-led police integrity unit, which was a recommendation of the commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence.
“Getting rid of the conflict of interest when police investigate themselves is the very least we could do to stop the rot,” he said.
Queensland’s police minister, Mark Ryan, said he strongly urged anyone with “complaints about their treatment by members of the Queensland police service to take their concerns to the relevant authority”.
In this case that would be the police’s internal unit, the ethical standards command.
“Like all Queenslanders, I expect the highest standards of professional and ethical behaviour from all members of the Queensland police service,” Ryan said. “The government and the Queensland police service strongly support the right of people to protest.
“It’s important to note though, that while these protest actions are supported, there is also a responsibility for those who take part in such protests to do so lawfully, respectfully and peacefully.”
This story was changed on 26 April 2023 to include new information provided by Queensland police. After initially telling Guardian Australia the matter was “considered finalised” they later advised it was under continuing investigation from ESC.
