Australia: NSW Supreme Court rules in favour of police, bans 'Black Lives Matter' protest

In a verdict favouring the police, an Australian court on July 25 prohibited 'Black Lives Matter' protest in Sydney. The NSW Supreme Court banned the demonstrations citing health risks that outweigh the right to protest amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While Justice Mark Lerace announced the court orders, lawyer and the protest organiser Paddy Gibson is reported to have called for an appeal to be lodged with the Court of Appeal.

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NSW Health's Jeremy McAnulty is reported to have cited the risk of COVID-19 transmission at these rallies as ‘medium’ while Gibson threatened to approach the Australian High Court against the verdict.

However, as per local media reports, the demonstrators plan to continue the movement against racial discrimination and prejudices despite the pandemic and the court’s verdict.

A protest has been called outside Town Hall at noon on July 28. As per reports, the demonstrators will march to the Parliament House seeking justice for an Indigenous man, David Dungay Jr, who was a victim of police brutality due to racial profiling and died in a Sydney jail back in 2015. 

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'Exponential' Effects

NSW health physician Jeremy McAnulty remains a staunch opponent of the protest in the court as he voiced concerns against the social distancing at the protest, as per local media reports. He was quoted as saying at the court by an Australian broadcaster that if anyone infected at the assembly infected someone else, the effects would be exponential and the consequences would be felt significantly. 

As per reports, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller took Gibson to the court, where the organiser's COVID safety plan for the demonstrators to wear the masks at the event was turned down by the judiciary as the police asserted that the plan "wasn’t enforceable."

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