LONDON: A police officer in Australia has been charged with assault over the arrest of former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas during a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney.
Thomas suffered a serious eye injury when she was detained outside the office of SEC Plating in June.
Activists had accused the company of supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in Gaza, a claim the company denied.
On Tuesday, Thomas said the charge was “a vindication for every person in this country who has protested for Palestine and been smeared for it,” adding: “I hope it encourages people to question the narrative pushed by politicians in relation to protesters, and to defend their right to protest by exercising it.”
New South Wales Police confirmed a 33-year-old senior constable from a specialist command had been ordered to appear in court in November on a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The force said he was being “managed in the workplace and his employment status is under review.”
Prosecutors have withdrawn all charges against Thomas relating to the protest, and she has been awarded 22,000 Australian dollars ($14,515) in legal costs.
Her lawyer, Peter O’Brien, described the arrest as a “cowardly, gratuitous, and compensable act of violence” and indicated that further legal action was imminent.
He said they would prosecute the State of New South Wales on the grounds of malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office, arguing: “It was of real and stark concern that the immediate response by the leadership of NSW Police in the immediate aftermath of Ms Thomas’s injury being sustained was that officers had done nothing wrong, despite clear and objective evidence to the contrary.
“The way peaceful protesters were treated that day is alarming for anyone concerned about democracy in this state,” he added.
Thomas said that “anti-protest laws aren’t just a threat to people protesting for Palestine but for any person who wants a safer world for all of us.”
Writing on Instagram, she said: “I’m acutely aware that charges may have never been brought against this officer if I wasn’t a very privileged victim. My thoughts are with the many victims of police brutality, particularly First Nations people, who never see justice.”
NSW police minister Yasmin Catley said the case was progressing as promised: “An officer has been charged and his employment status is under review. He is now before the courts and I won’t risk prejudicing this matter by commenting further.”
