A Gaza flotilla activist has been charged after allegedly repeating a prohibited pro-Palestinian slogan outside a Brisbane court where 26 people were appearing over the public use of the same phrase.
Helen O’Sullivan, 64, was arrested during a rally of about 50 people outside Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday in support of fellow flotilla activist Sam Woripa Watson and other defendants charged under Queensland’s new prohibited-expression laws.
Queensland Police described the incident as a “political disturbance”.
“The 64-year-old woman from Labrador was charged with one count of recital, distribution, publication or display of prohibited expressions,” a Queensland Police spokesperson told AAP.
O’Sullivan is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 14.
Before her arrest, she accused the Crisafulli government of attempting to silence criticism of Israel.
“We are speaking against the Crisafulli government that is attempting to silence valid criticism of the state of Israel,” O’Sullivan told the rally through a loudspeaker.
“From the river to the sea is a call for democracy and freedom.”
Police initially did not intervene as O’Sullivan continued to address the crowd.
“On behalf of all children of Palestine, I am saying from the river to the sea, free, free Palestine from apartheid, from illegal occupation, from genocide,” she said.
Officers moved in soon after Watson and other defendants entered the court building.
Watson told reporters outside court that he would plead not guilty unless a proposed High Court challenge succeeded in overturning the Queensland laws.
“If the law is not repealed, I will be pleading not guilty,” he said.
Watson said he was not afraid of the maximum penalty of two years in prison.
“Don’t be afraid of these laws. Every generation has had to stand up for their rights. This is our turn,” he said.
Inside court, Watson’s barrister, Alex White, asked Magistrate Lewis Shillito to adjourn the matter until December 2 while defendants awaited a decision on whether to mount a constitutional challenge.
Many of the other defendants did not enter pleas as they also awaited the outcome of any High Court challenge.
Watson was allegedly charged after using the phrase during a speech to about 300 people in Brisbane’s King George Square following his return from Israeli detention.
Watson and O’Sullivan were among 11 Australians detained by Israeli forces in May after joining a convoy of small boats that sought to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and breach Israel’s maritime blockade.
Queensland’s laws designate “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” as prohibited expressions.
Under the legislation, a person commits an offence by publicly reciting, distributing, publishing or displaying either expression in a way that might reasonably be expected to cause a member of the public to feel menaced, harassed or offended.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
The law provides a reasonable-excuse defence, including where the expression is used for a genuine artistic, religious, educational, historical or legal purpose, or as part of a genuine political dispute conducted in the public interest.
The meaning of the expression, which refers to the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, is disputed.
Antizionist activists claim that “from the river to the sea” is a call for Palestinian freedom. Jewish organisations regard it as a demand for the elimination of Israel and a threat to its Jewish population.
They point out that the expression derives from the Arabic slogan “min al-mayyeh lil-mayyeh, Falastin Arabiyyeh”, meaning “from the water to the water, Palestine is Arab”.
The Crisafulli government introduced the laws as part of a package responding to antisemitism and hate speech following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington described the measures in February as a common-sense response intended to protect Jewish Queenslanders and other faith communities.