Overview
- A rally for 19-year-old Isla Bell drew hundreds outside Melbourne’s State Library Saturday, with mourners wearing orange and hearing from her mother.
- Prosecutors who dropped the manslaughter charge Tuesday said there were no reasonable prospects of conviction due to insufficient evidence.
- Marat Ganiev, 55, now faces a single count of attempting to pervert the course of justice, with a new court date yet to be set.
- A second accused, 59-year-old Eyal Yaffe, had both charges withdrawn Tuesday and left court a free man.
- Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny attended the vigil and later said the justice system must center victims’ voices, as Isla’s family pressed for broader reform including trauma‑informed media rules.