The NSW police oversight body is set to examine officer actions following violent incidents during a Sydney protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit.
This investigation follows NSW Police’s admission of violating directives on Monday night, where officers forcefully interrupted Muslim worshippers in prayer, sparking demands for a formal apology.
On Friday, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) announced it had received numerous complaints regarding police behavior, prompting an inquiry into the law enforcement activities at Town Hall that evening, citing the matter as being of “public interest.”
“The commission will gather and assess all pertinent materials, such as video and mobile footage, documents, records, and any other relevant information, including that from the NSW Police Force,” stated the LECC.
“Hearings will form part of the commission’s investigative approach,” it continued.
Upon completing the investigation, the commission will produce a public report for the NSW parliament detailing its findings.”
Witness, NSW Police confirm orders not followed
NSW Police have confirmed Muslim worshippers who were roughly pulled off the ground while praying by police at the Sydney protest were told by their senior officer to wait for the prayer to be completed.
In a statement to SBS News on Thursday, a NSW Police spokesperson said: “The senior officer was attempting to relay that message to other officers who were carrying out a move-on direction during what was a noisy, dynamic and fast-moving situation.”
“However, some worshippers were moved on before the message from the senior officer was able to be relayed.”
Social media footage of the incident shows Muslim worshippers physically dragged and assaulted by officers mid-prostration, which has triggered outrage among the Muslim community.
Ex-police officer and barrister, Mahmud Hawila, who currently represents Palestine Action Group in legal challenges against the state government, witnessed the orders being breached.
Hawila told SBS News he saw a line of police officers on George Street divert towards the Town Hall forecourt, the location where the prayer was being held.
He said he advised the most senior police officer, superintendent David El-Badawi, to ensure officers waited for the prayer to finish.
“I say to David, ‘David, these people are praying. They’re defenceless. Give them just a minute and let them finish the prayers, and then I’ll make sure they disperse,” he told SBS News.
Hawila said he heard the superintendent tell officers to “hold back, they’re almost done”.
“But for some reason that’s beyond me, some officers … grab someone who’s praying, pick him up and chuck him into the concrete. He was on the ground bowing in prostration when the officer picked him up and threw him,” he said.
Hawila described El-Badawi as a “hero” who was “dismayed” and “about to cry” following the incident.
“He’s a hero in this story, because he exercised common sense in what is a very dark moment for Muslims in Australia,” he said.
“There was no move-on order given to any of the worshippers or anyone in the square. There was no reason for us to think we were doing anything wrong. We were allowed to be in the square. We were praying peacefully, and police set upon us for no reason, without warning.”
Hawila said he was given assurance from NSW Police commissioner Mal Lanyon that night that a public apology to the Muslim community would be made.
SBS News understands a separate figure in the Islamic community also received the same assurance from Lanyon.
However, Lanyon only provided personal apologies to some figures, including those from the Australian National Imams Council and the imam leading the prayer, Wesam Charkawi.
Charkawi confirmed to SBS News he didn’t accept the apology unless it was made public.
The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) told SBS News they didn’t receive an apology, and believe personal apologies are insufficient for the damage caused to Australia’s Muslims.
Anything less than a public apology from the NSW Police commissioner and premier and an independent inquiry would be “an insult to the Muslim community and a dangerous signal that attacking or disrupting public worship can now be done with impunity,” LMA’s Gamel Kheir said in a statement.
Lanyon didn’t respond to questions put forward by SBS News on whether a public apology was promised, but he said the move-on direction was not targeting any religion.
“I have apologised for any offence taken for interfering with that religious process,” he said in a statement.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has refused to apologise to the Muslim community and says he doesn’t support an independent inquiry, defending the actions of the police in what he described was a “middle of a riot”.
“I want to make it clear, I’m not going to condemn the police for doing what we ask them to do to keep the public safe,” Minns said in Question Time on Thursday.
The Islamophobia Register said it had received evidence that Muslim women were among the first worshippers targeted by police on Monday night.
“For communities already facing disproportionate levels of hostility and fear, the absence of accountability deepens the harm and reinforces a pattern the Register has documented for years: that Islamophobic harm is minimised, ignored, and without consequence,” the organisation said in a statement.
Hawila has also called on the City of Sydney’s lord mayor Clover Moore, who has backed an independent inquiry, for CCTV footage from Town Hall to be released, which would capture the moment police disrupted the prayers.
SBS News has contacted the City of Sydney council for comment.
Protest organisers welcome investigation
Palestine Action Group (PAG), which organised Monday’s rally, welcomed the LECC’s move to investigate police action.
“The police operation bore all the hallmarks of a police riot, targeting peaceful demonstrators who gathered to oppose the visit of President Isaac Herzog,” PAG organiser Amal Naser said in a statement on Friday.
“Under the Minns Labor Government, civil liberties in New South Wales have been steadily eroded. The events on Monday marked a dangerous escalation, with people young and old subjected to force for exercising their democratic right to protest.
“We have already seen reports of elderly women suffering serious injuries, worshippers allegedly assaulted after being permitted to pray, and minors arrested during what was a peaceful demonstration.”
The PAG also called on Minns, Police Minister Yasmin Catley and Lanyon to “take responsiblity and resign” for authorising the operation.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show police officers pinning down and repeatedly punching protesters, violently dispersing people kneeling in prayer, punching civilians lying on the ground, and charging at and pepper-spraying protesters.
Police said scuffles broke out, with 27 people arrested and taken to police stations across Sydney, while NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna said police actions were “justified” and he was “very proud” of their conduct.
When asked whether he condemned the actions of the police, Minns said on Tuesday he refused to “throw police under the bus” as they were placed in an “impossible situation”.
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