No mention of racism in police fact-sheet detailing hate crime against Palestinian man at Nazi-backed rally
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon is under pressure to investigate how and why the police prosecution of the racist abuse and assault on Palestinian man Shamikh Badra, which occurred on a train by a person who had attended the Nazi-backed March for Australia, did not even mention these important facts before the court. It has now been revealed the police fact sheet submitted to the Court during the sentence of the assailant made no mention of racism at all.
Greens MP, Solicitor and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said,
“This case proves that anti-Palestinian racism is real in the NSW Police force,”
“The NSW Government and the Police have promised a furious response to protect the victims of Nazi ideology, but when a Palestinian man is subject to a hate crime by an attendee of a Nazi-backed rally the Police decide racism somehow isn’t a relevant fact,”
“I just can’t understand how a cop could have looked at the video evidence of a Palestinian man in our community being told to go back to where he came from, targeted for having a keffiyah, and subjected to racial slurs, decide that racism doesn’t rate a mention in the fact sheet detailing this assault,”
“Not only is this omission immoral, it has severe legal and justice ramifications. Police are required by law to detail aggravating factors of assaults, including racism. They have plainly failed to do that in this case,”
“As it stands the police have barely communicated with Shamikh after he was the victim of a serious hate crime, they didn’t even tell him when his assailant was being sentenced and on what grounds. It’s such a radical failing of the system that victims of hate crimes can be sidelined and then subjected to further injustice by the hate that fuelled the assault not even being considered a relevant fact by those who are meant to be working for justice outcomes,”
“Commissioner Mal Lanyon needs to review this case and ensure that Shamikh gets justice,” Ms Higginson said.