More than 20 people were arrested in Brisbane over the weekend during protests against new Queensland laws banning the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada”. The laws, introduced by Premier David Crisafulli's government, carry a maximum sentence of two years in jail.
On Saturday, 20 protesters were arrested for reciting the prohibited expression or displaying it on a banner. At least two more were arrested on Sunday during a march on Parliament House. Activists have vowed to challenge the laws in the High Court, arguing they are invalid under the Australian constitution.
Justice for Palestine Magan-djin spokesperson Remah Naji told reporters that police had advised protesters that “similar words to the banned phrases” were not captured by the legislation. “So if we say, according to that advice: ‘between the river and the sea’, we should be fine,” she said, highlighting what she called the absurdity of the laws.
During Sunday's press conference, one protester tested the law by leading a chant with “From the river to the sea” and was promptly arrested. Another woman was arrested after quietly repeating the phrase while kneeling in the middle of a street. Ella Gutteridge, arrested on Saturday, said those taken into custody included two Jewish people, a Palestinian and an Indigenous man.
Premier Crisafulli defended the laws, denying they crack down on free speech and claiming the phrases amount to a call for genocide. “No one is suggesting that people can’t strongly speak about what’s happening in Gaza,” he said, but insisted hate must not go unchecked. The march on Sunday remained peaceful despite a heavy police presence.
