LONDON: A police officer in Australia has been charged with assault over the arrest of former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas during a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney.
Thomas suffered a serious eye injury when she was detained outside the office of SEC Plating in June.
Activists had accused the company of supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in Gaza, a claim the company denied.
On Tuesday, Thomas said the charge was “a vindication for every person in this country who has protested for Palestine and been smeared for it,” adding: “I hope it encourages people to question the narrative pushed by politicians in relation to protesters, and to defend their right to protest by exercising it.”
New South Wales Police confirmed a 33-year-old senior constable from a specialist command had been ordered to appear in court in November on a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
