‘River to sea’ accused claims charge over Boeing banner ‘insane’
Rex Martinich
A 70-year-old man accused of using the banned phrase “river to sea” at a Gaza conflict protest will claim the accusation was “insane”, a judge has heard.
Catholic anti-war activist Jim Dowling faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday accused of publicly reciting a prohibited statement that could cause a member of the public to feel threatened, harassed or offended.
Dowling, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, told magistrate Belinda Merrin that he was representing himself.
“I would like to plead insanity. I think the charge is insane. So can anyone who takes it seriously.”
Dowling was barefoot in court because of her vow of austerity over material possessions.
Queensland has banned the phrases “river to sea” and “globalize the intifada” as hate speech against Jewish people under its new “combatting anti-Semitism” law.
The highly controversial statements are seen by some to advocate genocide of the Jewish people from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean.
Queensland Attorney General Deb Frecklington said in February the laws were a “common sense” response to the Bondi terror attack.
Dowling said he was arrested and charged before the court during a protest outside aviation company Boeing’s headquarters in Brisbane on March 18.
He said there was a banner reading “From river to sea, Brisbane will be free of Boeing”.
Pro-Palestinian activists accused Boeing of providing supplies to the Israeli Air Force during the Gaza conflict.
The judge said Dowling had to prove he was mentally unfit to stand trial.
“I don’t think I’m crazy. I think the law is crazy,” Dowling said.
Merrin said he would note that he disputes the charge.
Dowling was released on bail and was ordered to return to court on April 29.
He was greeted outside the court by a small group of supporters and pro-Palestinian protesters.
“I’m not here to win any cases, I’m here to expose the arms trade. No other policies were mentioned, just Boeing,” Dowling said.
He denied threatening or harassing people with his banner at the Boeing protest.
“Some people get offended by everything. ‘From river to sea’, how can that bother anyone?” he said.
“The law is ridiculous.”
Dowling said most people do not support prohibited speech laws and he doubts a magistrate would jail him.
Commenting on another person charged, he said, “I think it would definitely be declared unconstitutional if it went to the Supreme Court.”
Dowling has a history of anti-war protests and was first arrested in 1978, he said.
A Northern Territory judge spared Dowling a prison sentence in 2017 for illegally entering the joint US-Australia Pine Gap surveillance base near Alice Springs.
Dowling was fined in 2005 for attempting to arrest then-federal MP Peter Dutton over his support for the Iraq war.
AAP
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