The last two years has seen a steady ramping up of repression against activists employing civil disobedience in environment and refugee movements and against solidarity activists. Last year Brisbane police stopped the annual al Nakba march by Justice for Palestine (Meanjin). Heavy repression has been metered out against anti-war whistleblowers facing life in prison: Assange and Snowden. Queensland political police repression reached its peak last month at Disrupt Land Forces Expo at Brisbane convention centre from 1-7 October 2022. Police and a private security firm combined to arrest and charge a local Gabba Councillor, Jonathan Sriranganathan, with trespass in his own ward when he queried the exclusion of protestors from the convention centre. Meanwhile anti-logging and anti-coal activists face draconian laws to prevent them from opposing destruction of forests in New South Wales and Tasmania and stopping the Adani Coal mine in Central Queensland. Paradigm Shift on 4ZZZ fm 102.1 Fridays at Noon has been interviewing activists about this heightened repression of people engaged in such actions.
Violet Coco, subject of the article by Pan Jordan below, is one of the latest to face state repression, 15 months in jail. Two years ago a refugee protestor was king hit from behind by a police officer and suffered a heart attack at a detention centre in Kangaroo Point in Brisbane. The Labor and Liberal parties are happy to pass draconian laws to stop these protests. There must be an immediate amnesty for people in jail for political actions like these. And remember these activists have taken action when all other avenues have been closed to them by corporations and governments. Terry Fitzpatrick has added a few verses to Waltzing Matilda to better reflect this current moment in history.
Do we really think capitalism is capable of solving the climate crisis? – Ian Curr, 5 Dec 2022.
Drop the charges! Release all political prisoners!
Seriously, Australia?
A 15 month prison sentence for a peaceful protest that blocked a bit of traffic for 25 minutes? Where? Must be in some repressive dictatorship with thousands of political prisoners and zero respect for human rights, yes? Nope. Australia.
Sydney’s Downing Centre local court this morning sentenced climate activist Violet Coco to 15 months in prison, with no opportunity of parole for eight months, for her part in a climate protest earlier this year.
Here’s what she did…
On April 13, Coco climbed on the roof of a parked truck that stopped traffic in one lane of the five-lane, in-bound side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She stood there holding a lit emergency flare, and after about 25 minutes, the police forcibly removed her and other protesters from the road.
Look, Coco freely admits she committed a crime.
“I understand that I broke the law, and I’m willing to accept the consequences of my actions,” Coco told HRW back in June.
But the seven charges thrown at her were ridiculously excessive. They included a charge under explosives regulations for holding the emergency flare, and an incitement offense for “encouraging the commission of a crime” by livestreaming the protest on Facebook.
And now, the sentence is even more absurd – 15 months for a 25-minute peaceful protest?
I mean… seriously?
Yes, seriously. And unfortunately, this is not the only such case in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).
In March, the NSW government established a new police unit known as the Strike Force Guard, designed to “prevent, investigate and disrupt unauthorised protests across the state.” Also, the state parliament has introduced new laws and penalties specifically targeting protests that block roads and ports.
We’ve reported how Australian authorities have been subjecting climate protesters to vindictive legal action, with magistrates imposing harsh penalties and bail conditions on climate protesters in particular.
As my colleague in Australia, Sophie McNeill, says, “It’s clear climate protesters are being targeted for disproportionate punishment.”
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Pan Jordan OP
5 Dec 2022
I asked our local councillor, Jonathan Sriranganathan, how he went in court with the charge of trespass hanging over his head arising from his arrest at Disrupt Land Forces. I am mindful that his is one of a number of infringements by the authorities on rights to assembly and protest in Brisbane during recent demonstrations.
Location of the councillor’s arrest on privately owned land in the Southbank precinct.
The trespass charge was laid on 4 October 2022, yet police are still considering whether they will drop the charges.
Failing that, the trial is scheduled for 1 February 2023.
All other charges arising from Disrupt Land Forces have been resolved.
I’m really angry about government authorisation of the arrest and charging of Councillor Sriranganathan. The coppers must hate Jonathan Sriranganathan to target him the way they did. As for the Risk Manager for ASM Global (Asia Pacific, India & Middle East) Pty Ltd, Hamish McGregor, he needs to be called to account by the Southbank Corporation for the show that he put on the 4th October outside the Land Forces expo. His conduct may have been lawful but was still unreasonable. To have a Brisbane City Councillor for the area arrested for turning up on a public footpath at the Convention and Entertainment Centre is beyond the pale. To have this public land owned by the Southbank Corporation is a crime. It permits the owners to buy international security firms (like ASM global) who are not accountable but are tied in with the military industrial complex that the Land Forces expo represents. The coppers who assisted in the arrest of a democratically elected councillor need to be held accountable
Justice delayed is justice denied!
Here is the footage of Councillor Sriranganathan’s arrest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW-ctWuDCbU
Ian Curr
22 Dec 2022
More than 230 civil society organisations have joined together to condemn the sentencing of local climate defender Violet Coco to 15 months imprisonment for staging a nonviolent direct action that involved the blocking of one lane of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for 25 minutes in April this year.
Coordinated by Counteract, Wage Peace and other grassroots activists, a diverse coalition of organisations have made known, via an open letter, that they not only condemn Coco’s prison sentence, but further the Perrottet government’s anti-protest regime, which led to this dramatic escalation in punishing nonviolent climate protest.
The signatories include the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Maritime Union of Australia, the National Justice Project, Amnesty, Liberty Victoria, Extinction Rebellion, Pride in Protest and Free Gaza Australia.
“We reject the claim from premier Perrottet that protest should not inconvenience people and are concerned about the message this sends in a democracy,” the letter reads.
The organisations go on to underscore that “peaceful but disruptive” protests are what guaranteed key aspects of daily life that we now take for granted, such as voting rights and the eight hour work day. And they further outline that the new regime impinges upon basic human rights.
United in resistance
An in the flesh version of the open letter occurred on Tuesday this week, when representatives from many of the signatory groups gathered before the Downing Centre courts to rally in support of Violet Coco who was applying for bail pending her appeal in March.
On 2 December, NSW Magistrate Allison Hawkins sentenced Coco to at least 8 months imprisonment and denied her bail. However, on the 13th, District Court Judge Timothy Gartelmann granted bail.
Meanwhile, on the steps of the courthouse, hundreds of protesters listened to a number of speakers deliver messages of resistance, which, taken together, conveyed that rather than serve to see an end to the climate movement, a broader base has been solidified in response to the new laws.
The Perrottet government jammed through these laws with bipartisan approval in early April, which now see peaceful protesters that block a bridge, tunnel, road or major facility without prior authorisation from the authorities facing up to 2 years imprisonment and/or a $22,000 fine.
Violating human rights
The open letter further notes that UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly Clement Voule expressed his outrage over Coco’s incarceration, stating that “peaceful protesters should never be criminalised or imprisoned”.
Indeed, this sentiment has been repeatedly expressed at various rallies in support of Coco over recent weeks, as those addressing the crowds have made clear that the NSW government’s authoritarian laws are at odds with international human rights law.
As part of the open letter, NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Josh Pallas outlined that the crackdown on protest has involved “parliament passing harsher laws, police seeking draconian bail conditions and surveilling protestors, and prosecutors seeking custodial sentences”.
This “shows just how much contempt this government holds for protestors and the environment”, Pallas makes clear. “The repression of peaceful protestors must end.”
Paul Gregoire
15 Dec 2022
For people in Sydney, Violet Coco’s bail hearing is at 9am Tuesday 13 Dec 2022 at Downing street courts this morning.
Last week, a NSW court jailed Violet for 15 months for a peaceful climate protest.
Hear her story @ Pearls and Irritations.
https://johnmenadue.com/last-week-a-nsw-court-jailed-me-for-15-months-for-a-peaceful-climate-protest-hear-my-story/
I wonder what happened to her friend, the firefighter, and the many others involved in blockading Sydney?- Ed.
PEACEFUL PROTEST IS NOT A CRIME!
STOP LOCKING UP CLIMATE ACTIVISTS!
Climate activist Violet Coco has just been sentenced to 15 MONTHS IN PRISON for taking part in a peaceful protest blocking one lane of traffic in the sydney harbour bridge, for just 25 minutes. Her sentence includes an 8 month non parole period.
This is an outrageous attack on the right to protest, and is just the latest in a number of repressive actions against climate protesters in Australia. The real criminals are the billionaires destroying the planet to increase their profits.
Join us on Monday to show solidarity with Violet and all other protesters facing unjust persecution for fighting for climate justice.
We also encourage people to donate to Violet’s fundraiser to appeal this sentence: https://chuffed.org/project/95028-get-violet-out-of-prison