Amnesty International Australia welcomes today’s announcement that the NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) will investigate the actions of police officers during Monday’s protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Sydney.
“Amnesty International was shocked and horrified by the unnecessary and disproportionate force used by NSW police against First Nations Peoples, Muslims in prayer and members of the public who came together at the Sydney Town Hall protest to demand Herzog be investigated for incitement of genocide,” said Amnesty International Australia’s Occupied Palestinian Territory Spokesperson, Mohamed Duar.
“The LECC has rightly heeded our call for an independent investigation and listened to the concerns of many others who attended the protest.”
“Law enforcement officials should be protecting people’s right to protest, not violently suppressing peaceful protest and harming those standing up for human rights,”
Amnesty International Australia’s Occupied Palestinian Territory Spokesperson, Mohamed Duar
The LECC statement acknowledges the “significant number of complaints” they have received since the protest. Amnesty International applauds the individuals and civil society organisations who have spoken up in defence of human rights under very difficult circumstances.
“The right to peaceful protest is protected under international law. What we witnessed earlier this week was a serious assault on those rights and a deeply troubling display of state-sanctioned violence.”
Protest has been at the heart of human rights struggles across the World and in Australia including advancing First Nations Justice, securing marriage equality and helping end the Vietnam and Iraq wars.
“Law enforcement officials should be protecting people’s right to protest, not violently suppressing peaceful protest and harming those standing up for human rights,” said Mohamed Duar.
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