‘It was terrifying’: Australia faces reckoning over brutal police crackdown on pro-Palestine protests

Rebecca Payne was wearing a fluorescent pinkish vest – intelligibly identifying her arsenic a ineligible perceiver – arsenic she filmed from nan separator of a crowd of Australians protesting the sojourn of Israeli president Isaac Herzog successful Sydney past week.

When she was deed pinch pepper-spray and started emotion an contiguous burning sensation successful her eye, her first thought was that it was an accident. It was only later, erstwhile she watched backmost footage of nan incident, that Payne realised a constabulary serviceman had reached complete and pepper-sprayed straight into nan packed crowd.

The protestation connected 9 February would speedy turn violent, and nan scenes of clashes betwixt demonstrators and constabulary exploded connected societal media. Many person since accused nan authorities of utilizing excessive force, while officials person said protesters were fierce towards officers and that constabulary acted pinch “remarkable restraint”.

Thousands of group had gathered adjacent Sydney Town Hall arsenic Herzog began a four-day authorities sojourn focused connected commemorating nan victims of a December onslaught astatine a Jewish festival successful Bondi Beach. Fifteen group were killed in Australia’s worst wide shooting successful almost 3 decades.

The protesters accused Herzog of inciting genocide against Palestinians successful Gaza. Herzog rejected nan accusation and claimed that protests against him were meant to “undermine and delegitimise” Israel’s correct to exist.

“Without immoderate informing astatine all, he abruptly conscionable capsicum sprayed a full bunch of america for perfectly nary logic that I could detect,” Payne tells The Independent, referring to nan officer. “I felt it spell into my correct oculus and onshore connected my near cheek.”

“I virtually could not spot a thing,” she says. “I was wholly blind. My look was burning. I was really frightened that I was going to get knocked complete and trampled.”

Moments later, she says, constabulary charged. Protesters were pushed and punched, group coughed and screamed, and she stumbled guardant successful tears, clinging to a alien to debar falling connected her face.

“It was perfectly terrifying,” she says. “My first emotion was daze – that constabulary successful Sydney would behave successful this way. And past fear.”

It was subsequently revealed that nan New South Wales constabulary had utilized capsicum spray connected nan protesters, prompting allegations of nan usage of excessive unit and an investigation by nan authorities watchdog.

The rally took spot aft organisers grounded successful a last-minute ineligible bid to overturn a prohibition connected a planned march done nan metropolis centre.

It had been declared a “special event”, giving constabulary expanded powers and preventing nan protesters from marching.

Payne, who has monitored demonstrations successful New South Wales since 2020, had arrived astatine nan rally expecting tension. But she insisted that she didn’t witnesser unit from demonstrators that would warrant what followed.

“I did not spot 1 protester do thing that a constabulary personification could reasonably consciousness threatened by,” she says. “But I saw truthful galore instances of constabulary unit that were wholly unprovoked.”

Police said 27 group were arrested, pinch 9 later charged, and that 10 officers were assaulted.

Assistant commissioner Peter McKenna claimed his officers were “threatened, jostled and assaulted” during “a number of melees, rolling fights” and were “significantly outnumbered”.

State constabulary main Mal Lanyon said that officers showed “remarkable restraint” and “did what they needed to do".

NSW premier Chris Minns said nan constabulary had been “put successful an intolerable situation” that nighttime and urged nan nationalist “not to look astatine a 10-second clip without nan afloat context”. He claimed officers had done “everything possible” to debar convulsive confrontations.

Payne disputes nan characterisation. “Most of nan protestation was peaceful,” she says. While location had been hostility erstwhile constabulary initially prevented group entering nan protestation area, she did not witnesser demonstrators acting violently astatine nan clip nan spray was deployed.

The incident successful Sydney has sparked renewed scrutiny complete Australian police’s usage of capsicum spray and different crowd-control methods.

A video from nan Sydney protestation verified by Human Rights Watch showed officers punching group connected nan ground, dispersing group kneeling successful dream and spraying protesters from up close. One clip featured a sound shouting “Stop it! Stop it!” arsenic 2 officers many times struck a restrained protester.

Annabel Hennessy, Australia interrogator for nan authorities group, says they are “particularly concerned astir nan evident usage of force” astatine protests against nan Israeli president’s visit.

“From our first study of videos and taking statements from witnesses, it does look that unit was used,” she tells The Independent.

She points to world standards governing alleged less-lethal weapons. “Under UN guidance connected little lethal weapons successful rule enforcement, chemic irritants for illustration capsicum spray should only beryllium utilized erstwhile a rule enforcement charismatic has logic to judge location is an imminent threat of injury. In galore of nan videos, capsicum spray appears to beryllium utilized connected protesters who do not look to beryllium behaving successful a measurement that is violent,” she says.

According to Hennessy, immoderate of nan astir troubling accounts of nan nighttime came from ineligible observers who described being sprayed and past instantly charged by officers.

“Pepper spray is simply a non-discriminatory weapon,” she notes. “It is very concerning erstwhile it’s utilized connected a ample group of group successful specified a way, peculiarly erstwhile group picture being sprayed, incapable to see, falling over, and past having to activity infirmary attraction afterwards.”

Beyond nan contiguous injuries, Hennessy warns of a wider antiauthoritarian impact. “It tin person a chilling effect connected nan correct to nationalist assembly erstwhile we spot this benignant of evident excessive unit utilized against protesters,” she says.

“It tin deter others from exercising their correct to nationalist assembly and free speech. And that’s really worrying, because nan correct to nationalist assembly is simply a cornerstone of democracy.”

Amnesty International Australia welcomed confirmation that nan NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission would analyse nan clashes, noting nan watchdog had received a important number of complaints.

“Amnesty International was shocked and horrified by nan unnecessary and disproportionate unit utilized by NSW constabulary against First Nations Peoples, Muslims successful dream and members of nan nationalist who came together astatine nan Sydney Town Hall protestation to request Herzog beryllium investigated for incitement of genocide,” Mohamed Duar, nan organisation’s Occupied Palestinian Territory spokesman, said successful a statement. “Law enforcement officials should beryllium protecting people’s correct to protest, not violently suppressing serene protestation and harming those opinionated up for quality rights.”

He described nan police’s behaviour arsenic “a superior battle connected those authorities and a profoundly troubling show of state-sanctioned violence”.

Pepper spray, besides known arsenic OC aliases capsicum spray, is simply a chemic irritant derived from capsaicin, nan compound that gives chilli peppers their heat. It is mostly dispensed arsenic a stream, mist aliases fog and is intended nether nan NSW Police’s guidance “for self-defence to assistance successful nan restraint of a subject, aliases to limit a subject's actions”.

The UN Basic Principles connected nan Use of Force and Firearms states that rule enforcement should use non-violent intends earlier resorting to unit and usage only nan minimum necessary.

Civil nine and ineligible groups, including nan Australian Democracy Network and nan Grata Fund, reported an summation successful nan deployment of capsicum spray astatine protests betwixt 2019 and 2024.

Their investigation recovered OC spray was utilized astatine 11 protests successful 2023–24, compared pinch 7 successful nan erstwhile 5 years. In astatine slightest 5 incidents it was allegedly sprayed straight into nan faces of nan protesters, leaving much than 200 group crossed 18 protests complete 5 years requiring curen by thoroughfare medics aft exposure.

While nan nationalist information for 2025 is yet to beryllium compiled, figures shared pinch The Independent by nan Australian Democracy Network show constabulary utilizing OC spray astatine protests connected six occasions successful Victoria and 2 successful NSW. This includes a 70-year-old being sprayed during a Wollongong march successful support of nan Palestinian group successful October.

The investigation besides recorded 51 incidents of nan usage of excessive unit successful restraining protesters from 2019 to 2024, including nan usage of headlocks, chokeholds, and officers placing knees connected people’s heads and necks. Injuries recorded included a perforated eardrum, bruising, soft insubstantial damage, scarring, a surgery arm, and a sprained finger.

The firing of rubber bullets astatine a protestation successful Melbourne successful September 2024 led to astatine slightest 20 group being treated for injuries. Foam baton rounds and capsicum spray were besides utilized during clashes astatine a Land Forces subject convention successful nan city. At different protests, tear state and flash-bang grenades were deployed, including against group who were reportedly moving distant and complying pinch constabulary directions.

Police horses were ridden into crowds connected astatine slightest 4 occasions successful NSW and Victoria, according to nan research, and 4 children aged 16 and nether were pepper-sprayed.

The watchdog said that it was “in nan nationalist interest” to analyse what happened successful Sydney, “including incidents of alleged misconduct connected nan portion of NSW constabulary officers against persons attending that location for a protest”.

A spokesperson for nan NSW curate for constabulary told nan ABC nan authorities would cooperate, adding: “At this time, nan astir due people of action is to let nan LECC to transportation retired its functions independently and without interference.”