A Palestinian Australian man charged with failing to follow police directions during an Isaac Herzog rally in Sydney has had his bail conditions varied, after a court ruled it was “not proportionate” to ban him from inner Sydney.
Eyad Shadid was one of 12 protesters charged after New South Wales police dispersed last week’s protest against the Israeli president’s visit to Australia.
Shadid was arrested near where a group of Muslim men were praying when they were grabbed by police officers.
The 25-year-old was charged with refusing to comply with a police direction and resisting or hindering an officer.
On Wednesday, solicitor Nick Hanna challenged Shadid’s bail condition that he not enter the City of Sydney council area unless it was for work or to attend court.
Hanna told Downing Centre local court the prohibition was “unnecessary, unreasonable, disproportionate and inappropriate”. The lawyer said there was “real doubt” as to whether police gave a lawful move-on direction during the Herzog rally, and he told the court Shadid was not obstructing a footpath or road at the time.
The police opposed the variation on community safety grounds, arguing there was a danger Shadid could commit a future offence.
The prosecutor told the court it “would significantly undermine enforcement and compliance in terms of [Shadid] not engaging in any unlawful protest”.
But the magistrate Bree Chisholm ruled the condition was not proportionate, noting Shadid was already required not to commit further offences and be of good behaviour.
She noted in her decision that police alleged that Shadid had said to an officer, “mate, I’ll fucking drop you”. Hanna told the court Shadid denied saying that.
Police allege the phrase was not an exact quote, but rather Shadid said words to that effect, Hanna told the court. He said that suggested the evidence was not captured on body-worn camera footage.
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Other protesters charged after the rally are also banned from entering the City of Sydney.
One protester has been banned from participating in “any rallies or demonstrations” while on bail. The 67-year-old man was charged last week with behaving in an offensive manner.
Shadid, who has no criminal history, and two others were also told they would be in breach of their bail conditions if they attended an “unlawful” protest.
One protester, 28-year-old Jace Turner, is not allowed to leave his house between 7pm and 6am.
Turner was charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of their duty, causing actual bodily harm. The offence carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Sydney-based solicitor Majed Kheir is representing a number of the protesters.
“We have concerns that the police have been heavy-handed in the imposition of certain bail conditions,” he said this week.
“Some conditions appear to target lawful conduct that does not necessarily give rise to a bail concern.”
Samantha Lee, the assistant principal at Redfern Legal Centre, said it was vital that any bail condition was not used “as a form of punishment itself”.
The objectives of bail were to ensure people returned to court without committing offences or interfering with witnesses.
Lee said stipulating a person could not attend any protest while on bail was “harsh”. Such conditions have previously been imposed on environmental activists in NSW.
Muslim leaders receive apology
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, has responded to a letter by the Australian National Imams Council raising concerns about worshipers being forcibly moved by police at town hall.
Lanyon, in his letter, said: “I would like to reiterate that I have apologised for any offence caused and at no stage did officers intend to cause offence to members of the Muslim community.”
The premier, Chris Minns, has refused to apologise to the group and on Thursday reiterated that position.
“I’ve got to be consistent with my views publicly and privately,” the premier told reporters.
“I want to make it clear we’ve had long, detailed, constructive discussions with leaders of the Muslim community to try and get our personal relationship on track, but also to ease and calm community tensions.”
Jihad Dib, the only Muslim MP in Minns’s cabinet and the MP for Bankstown, said on social media last week that the removal of worshippers was “confronting” and “deeply distressing”.
“Since last night, I have had direct conversations with the premier, minister for police and commissioner of police to express the deep concerns of our community,” he said at the time.
On Thursday, standing alongside Minns, Dib said his comments weren’t a “criticism of police”.
“There was a situation where things weren’t communicated. I believe it could have been handled better,” he said.
Dib said he was “cranky” at protest organisers for not agreeing to NSW police’s alternative march route.
Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, who led the town hall evening prayer, said on Thursday that a public apology now would not be enough. He called for a parliamentary inquiry into whether the state government influenced what unfolded at the protest.
Since last Monday’s protest, 12 Labor branches have passed motions condemning the police conduct and the ALP government’s anti-protest laws.
Two branches – Padstow and King’s Cross – have passed motions thanking the four Labor MPs who defied Minns and attended the anti-Herzog rally in Sydney.
“This momentum will continue to build with many more branches set to get on board in the coming weeks,” the co-convener of Labor Friends of Palestine, Peter Moss, said.
He warned it could reach a “crescendo” ahead of Labor’s state conference in July.
