Overview
- Queensland Police arrested 20 people after Saturday’s Brisbane rally against the state’s new hate‑speech law and said the crowd was largely peaceful.
- Officers filed 14 counts for displaying a prohibited expression and seven for reciting one, using the powers created under the recent legislation.
- About 300 people gathered in central Brisbane, where police removed a banner bearing the phrase “from the river to the sea” and led several holders away.
- The law, passed on March 5, outlaws the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” when they are likely to menace, harass or offend, with penalties of up to two years in jail.
- The slogans’ meaning is contested as Jewish groups call them antisemitic while activists say they express Palestinian rights, and New South Wales has signalled interest in a similar ban.