Two pro-Palestinian protesters have been charged with violating contentious new Queensland hate-speech laws, with one of them allegedly saying the banned phrase “from the river to the sea”.
The arrests occurred at a small protest march which started outside the state parliament building on Wednesday, just hours after the new laws, passed by parliament last week, went into effect.
Under the act, a person can be jailed for up to two years for saying a banned phrase – including “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” – if doing so would “menace, harassment or offence”.
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Liam Parry from the Students for Palestine group had led the protest, where there was a large police presence that included officers the public safety response team.
“I’m not sure if everybody here [knows] the history of the different slogans that the government is trying to ban us from saying, so [in] the interests of education, I want to explain [it] to you,” he said at the protest.
He went on to deny that the phrase was terroristic or antisemitic, saying it was instead a call for freedom and dignity of the people between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea.
“So when we say, from the river to the sea, we are calling for the freedom of the people of Palestine,” he said.
He discouraged others from chanting the slogan.
Moments later, as protesters started to march, he was arrested.
Witnesses said a second person was later arrested at the end of the march to King George Square, who they described as wearing a shirt which said “from the river to the sea”.
Parry was released from the Brisbane watch house on Wednesday evening.
A spokesperson for the police said both protesters had been charged.
Parry has been issued with a notice to appear in Brisbane magistrates court on 8 April for the offence of recital, distribution, publication or display of prohibited expressions, the spokesperson said.
“Officers later arrested an 18-year-old woman at King George Square and is assisting police with their inquiries,” the spokesperson said.
“Investigations remain on going.”
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