A Palestinian Australian man charged with failing to obey police orders at an Isaac Herzog rally in Sydney has had his bail conditions changed after a court ruled it was “disproportionate” to ban him from inside Sydney.
Iyad Shadid was one of 12 protesters charged after New South Wales police broke up a protest last week against the Israeli president’s visit to Australia.
Shadid was arrested near a place where a group of Muslim men were praying when police officers caught him.
The 25-year-old man was charged with refusing to obey police orders and resisting or obstructing an officer.
On Wednesday, lawyer Nick Hanna challenged Shadid’s bail condition, which requires him not to enter the Sydney City Council area unless for work or to attend court.
Hannah told the Downing Center local court that the ban was “unnecessary, unreasonable, disproportionate and inappropriate”. The lawyer said there was “genuine doubt” whether police had given a lawful evacuation direction during the Herzog rally and told the court that Shadeed was not blocking the footpath or the road at the time.
Police opposed the diversion on grounds of community safety, arguing that Shadid posed a risk of future offending.
The prosecutor told the court that “this significantly undermines enforcement and compliance [Shadid] Not participating in any illegal protest”.
But Magistrate Bree Chisholm ruled the condition was disproportionate, stating that Shadid must not commit further offenses and be of good behaviour.
She said in her decision that police allege Shadid told an officer, “Mate, I’m gonna drop you,” which Hanna previously said was competitive.
Other protesters who were charged after the rally were also banned from entering the city of Sydney.
A protester is barred from participating in “any rallies or demonstrations” while on bail. The 67-year-old was charged last week with indecent behaviour.
Shadeed and two others, who have no criminal record, were also told they would breach their bail conditions if they attended the “illegal” protest.
One protester, Jace Turner, 28, is not allowed to leave his home between 7pm and 6am.
Turner is charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty causing actual bodily harm. The offense carries a maximum jail term of seven years.
Sydney-based lawyer Majed Kheer is representing many of the protesters.
“We have concerns that the police are being heavy-handed in imposing some bail conditions,” he said this week.
“Some of the conditions appear to be aimed at lawful conduct that does not necessarily give rise to bail concerns.”
Samantha Lee, assistant principal at Redfern Legal Centre, said it was important not to use any bail condition as “a form of punishment”.
The goals of bail are to allow people to return to court without committing crimes or interfering with witnesses.
Lee said it was “draconian” to impose a requirement that a person on bail not attend any protest. Similar conditions have previously been imposed on environmental activists in NSW.
Muslim leaders have apologized
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has responded to a letter from the Australian National Imams Council raising concerns about worshipers being forcibly moved by police at a town hall.
Lanyon said in his letter: “I would like to apologize for any offense and reiterate that at no stage did the authorities intend to offend members of the Muslim community.”
The Premier, Chris Minnes, refused to apologize to the group and reiterated that position on Thursday.
“I have to be consistent with my views in public and in private,” the premier told reporters.
“We have had long, detailed, constructive discussions to try to track and get our personal relationship with the leaders of the Muslim community, but we also want to make it clear to ease and calm communal tensions.”
Jihad Dib, the only Muslim MP in Mins’s cabinet and MP for Bankstown, said on social media last week that the removal of worshipers was “confronting” and “deeply distressing”.
“Since last night, I have had direct conversations with the Premier, the Minister of Police and the Commissioner of Police to express the deepest concerns of our community,” he said at the time.
On Thursday, standing alongside Minns, Dib said his comments were not “criticism of the police”.
“There is a situation where things are not being communicated. I believe it is being handled well,” he said.
Dib said he was “furious” with protest organizers for not agreeing to an alternative march route by NSW police.
Town Hall Evening Prayer Sheikh Vesham Charkavi, who led Naku, said on Thursday that a public apology is not enough now. He demanded a parliamentary inquiry into whether the state government had influenced what happened in the protest.
Since last Monday’s protest, 12 Labor branches have passed motions condemning police behavior and the ALP government’s anti-protest laws.
Both branches – Padstow and King’s Cross – passed resolutions thanking the four Labor MPs who attended an anti-Herzog rally in Sydney in defiance of Minns.
“This momentum will continue as more branches are set up in the coming weeks,” said Peter Moss, co-convener of Labor Friends in Palestine.
He warned Labor could reach a “crescendo” ahead of the state conference in July.
