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WARNING: This article contains the name of an Aboriginal person who has died.
Paul Silva is expecting a heightened police presence at a rally he’s organising to protest against Indigenous deaths in custody.
The planned rally set for Sunday has been deemed illegal after New South Wales’ police commissioner decided to extend the government’s contentious protest ban.
Police have the power to refuse to authorise protests in key Sydney areas for up to three months, under restrictions that came into effect after 15 people were killed in a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in December.
Police can extend the ban on a fortnightly basis.
Mr Silva’s rally will also mark 10 years since the death of his uncle David Dungay Jr in Long Bay Prison.
Mr Dungay, who was diabetic, had been restrained by five prison guards after refusing to stop eating biscuits in his cell.
During the incident, as officers restrained Mr. Dungay, he repeatedly cried out, “I can’t breathe,” shortly before he passed away.
A 2019 inquest made recommendations regarding training, with the coroner finding the way in which Mr Dungay was restrained contributed to his death.
But the coroner cleared custodial staff and rejected a submission from Mr Dungay’s family that four corrective services officers be referred for disciplinary proceedings.
Mr Silva said it is important to continue to draw attention to the stories behind the harrowing deaths in custody statistics.
Despite the imposed restrictions, it is believed they will not dissuade those already determined to participate in the rally.
On January 26, 2025, a significant crowd gathered for the Invasion Day rally, marching through the streets of Sydney. Source: AAP / STEVEN MARKHAM/AAPIMAGE
While Mr Silva is concerned about the impact of these laws on protest, he said it will not deter him from organising future events and called on other groups to continue to organising rallies for their causes.
“Go ahead with it, don’t let these laws silence us, don’t let these laws be another form of oppression in 2026,” he said.
“Whether it’s a death in custody, brutalisation, land theft, racial discrimination within society, it’s important that we call it out.”
Mr. Silva plans to proceed with the march through Sydney as initially intended, dismissing the ban as illegitimate.
