Violent policing ‘normalises’ hate against Muslims
A police boss has apologized to Muslim leaders after his officers dragged men praying during a rally opposing a visit by Israel’s president.
Police were seen beating, pushing and pepper-spraying people at a protest in Sydney following Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s arrival in Australia on Monday.
Aftab Malik, Australia’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia, said the Muslim men filmed kneeling and praying before being pushed and dragged by police were not angry but instead “scared”.
Mr Malik said the force’s actions were “shameful” and “appalling”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly defended police and said they were facing “incredibly difficult” conditions.
But Mr Malik said the prime minister burst into tears in a television interview after failing to address a controversial line of questioning that suggested the men had “annoyed” police while praying.
“The Prime Minister should have stepped back and said: ‘I don’t agree with that characterization,’ and if he had said that things would have been different,” he told the Senate on Tuesday night.
“But unfortunately he responded the same way, and this is part of the normalization in which Muslims are humiliated every day… It is the banality of Islamophobia that destroys the dignity of Muslims who are legitimate citizens like everyone else.”
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said he apologized to senior members of the Muslim community for any offense caused.
But he also continued to defend the actions of police who were instructed to clear protesters from Sydney City Hall.
Police may face legal action over their treatment of protesters. One expert said images of their behavior were widely circulated online and could lead to reputational damage.
“Civilians see this type of violence very rarely in Australia, but when we do it is shocking,” criminologist Justin Ellis from Newcastle University told AAP.
“The police will have to deal with any loss of reputation.”
Dr Ellis said a message about safety, rather than officer tactics, could help build public trust going forward.
But the damage may have already been done.
Greens MP Abigail Boyd is considering legal action after she was shot by police.
Others may also take the police to court or file a formal complaint; A video may be shared on social media showing a man with his hands raised being repeatedly punched in the stomach by police.
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas, who suffered a serious eye injury when she was arrested during a protest in 2025, has had charges of resisting police dropped and a charge of assault against the police officer who allegedly maimed her.
Attorney Josh Bornstein said an independent investigation into protest policing is needed.
“It’s difficult when the police are the usual source of investigating violent criminal activity, but in this case we need some sort of independent investigation,” he told ABC TV.
Officers arrested 27 people on Monday and later charged nine with offenses including offensive behavior in public and resisting police.
5 of the citizens were hospitalized.
While Mr Herzog continues his Australian tour through Melbourne and Canberra, the violence has not deterred protesters in other parts of the country from taking to the streets.
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