Police have charged a former Greens candidate, Hannah Thomas, following her arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest outside a Sydney manufacturing facility. The 35-year-old remains in hospital with serious facial injuries sustained during the incident, which has drawn widespread attention and calls for an independent investigation. According to ABC News, Ms Thomas, who ran against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the federal seat of Grayndler during the May election, was among a group of demonstrators gathered on Friday morning outside SEC Plating in Sydney’s south-west. Protesters allege the c

Police have charged a former Greens candidate, Hannah Thomas, following her arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest outside a Sydney manufacturing facility. The 35-year-old remains in hospital with serious facial injuries sustained during the incident, which has drawn widespread attention and calls for an independent investigation. According to ABC News, Ms Thomas, who ran against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the federal seat of Grayndler during the May election, was among a group of demonstrators gathered on Friday morning outside SEC Plating in Sydney’s south-west. Protesters allege the company supplies components used in the manufacture of F-35 fighter jets, the same class flown by the Israel Defense Forces. SEC Plating has denied these claims. According to NSW Police, officers responded to what they described as an unauthorised protest and attempted to move demonstrators on. During the confrontation, videos captured by bystanders show Ms Thomas being dragged away by police before falling to the ground alongside an officer. In the footage, a police officer is heard saying, “Get up now,” to which Thomas replies, “I’m trying.” Following the incident, Ms Thomas was hospitalised with what her lawyer described as serious facial trauma. “My understanding is that the injury to her eye is very serious, and there is a real chance, regrettably and gravely, that she is going to lose an eye,” said her lawyer, Peter O'Brien, on Saturday. NSW Police later confirmed that Ms Thomas has been issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for allegedly hindering or resisting a police officer and for refusing to comply with a lawful direction to disperse. She is due to appear at Bankstown Local Court on August 12. In response to the incident, federal and NSW Greens members have demanded greater accountability, with NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson calling for it to be declared a critical incident. A critical incident declaration would require an internal police investigation into any case involving death or serious injury resulting from police contact. NSW Police confirmed the incident is under investigation but stated it has not been formally declared a critical incident. “The decision to declare a critical incident lies with the Region Commander,” a police spokesperson said on Sunday evening. “The incident remains under investigation, and police continue to seek further information.” Police reported that four other individuals were arrested at the same protest. Among them, a 24-year-old man is alleged to have temporarily stolen a police-issued body-worn camera. The group has been charged with various offences and granted conditional bail. They are expected to appear at Bankstown Local Court on July 15. Arrest documents obtained by the ABC for one of the five charged individuals referenced the protest occurring outside a “place of worship.” SEC Plating is located directly across the road from the Teebah Islamic Association Mosque. This detail raises questions about whether police invoked recent amendments to anti-protest legislation passed by the NSW government earlier this year. The revised laws expanded the scope of move-on orders to include places of worship, as part of a broader crackdown on “hate speech.” Those amendments came in the wake of an incident in January, in which a caravan containing power gel explosives was found in Dural. Although the explosives lacked a detonator, Premier Chris Minns labelled the incident a “potential mass casualty event.” The Australian Federal Police later described it as a “fabricated terrorist plot” with suspected links to organised crime networks in Australia and abroad. A legal challenge against the constitutionality of the new laws is currently before the Supreme Court, and a NSW parliamentary inquiry is examining whether the legislature was misled during the passage of the bill. NSW Police have not confirmed whether the move-on directions issued to protesters on Friday were made under the new legislative provisions, nor have they clarified which specific laws were enforced.

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