Protesters Launch Legal Battle Against Controversial Anti-Hate Speech Laws, Calling Them ‘Absurd and Stupid

Pro-Palestinian activists are preparing to challenge Queensland’s hate speech laws in court, following a series of arrests during a protest against these regulations.

On Sunday, Justice for Palestine Magan-djin supporters took their demonstration to the steps of the state parliament in Brisbane. This protest occurred just a day after police detained 20 individuals for allegedly using or displaying two prohibited slogans.

Sunday’s rally saw at least two more participants apprehended for similar allegations.

Earlier in the year, Queensland enacted legislation prohibiting the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada,” classifying them as anti-Semitic hate speech. This decision has sparked significant debate.

The slogans, commonly heard at pro-Palestinian rallies in Australia and beyond, are controversial due to their varied interpretations.

The full saying “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” refers to the land between the Jordan River, which borders eastern Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

Anyone who recites or displays the terms can face up to two years in jail if found to have used the popular pro-Palestine chants to menace or harass others.

The group arrested on Saturday faces 14 charges of displaying a prohibited expression and seven charges of reciting a prohibited expression.

But Subhi Awad, from Justice for Palestine Magan-djin, said the group would mount a constitutional challenge against the laws.

They had received legal advice that “almost everyone” of the arrested protesters had acted legally if they used the prohibited expression, he said.

“(The law) provides that it is a reasonable excuse to use the prohibited expression for a purpose that is in the public interest and (their) conduct is reasonable in the circumstances,” he said.

“The section provides, as an example of what is a purpose in the public interest, use of the prohibited expression in a genuine political dispute carried on in the public interest.”

‘Absurd and stupid laws’

At the rally outside parliament on Sunday, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said telling the truth was becoming a crime.

“Your state, Queensland, is at the spear tip of this fight for civil liberties,” she said.

“We are here today, standing with those who refuse to be silenced, who refuse to obey these bad, appalling, reckless, but also absurd and stupid laws.”

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli previously said the laws provided strong protection and came in response to clear calls from the Jewish community.

“This is about drawing a clear line — and stamping out the embers of hatred that were allowed to burn unchecked for too long — to ensure we protect Queenslanders,” he said in announcing the legislation.

But Australian Progressive Party state leader Edward Carroll, who was among those arrested on Saturday, said the laws “do not protect us as Jewish people”.

“They are not about combating antisemitism — they are about silencing dissent and support for Palestine,” he said.

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