A ex-Greens candidate left with a serious eye injury after her arrest by police at a rally for Palestine has unleashed from her hospital bed at NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Hannah Thomas has undergone an operation following the injury suffered at the protest outside south-west Sydney business, SEC Plating, which the Greens have accused of supplying materials used by the Israeli military.
Thomas, who challenged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the last election, is at risk of losing vision in her right eye, following the clash.
She has since been issued with a court attendance notice after police charged her with hinder/resist police and refuse/fail to comply with direction to disperse. She is expected to appear in Bankstown Local Court on August 12.
‘I just wanted to say thanks so much for the overwhelming support I’ve received… I’ve been lucky to be looked after so well by the staff at the hospital,’ Thomas said.
‘I don’t want to go into too much detail about the traumatic events on Friday, but, I’m 5’1’ and I weigh 45kg. I was engaged in a peaceful protest and the actions of NSW Police have left me potentially without vision in my right eye, permanently.
‘This is because of Chris Minns and (police minister) Yasmin Catley and their draconian anti-protest laws.
‘The anti-protest laws aren’t just a threat to people protesting for Palestine, but for any person who wants a safer world for all of us.’
Police had issued a move-on direction to the group of around 50 protestors at about 5.35am on Friday to disrupt the alleged unauthorised protest.
The NSW Greens claimed the Lakemba business was involved in the supply chain to make Israeli fighter jets.
Thomas is accused of refusing to comply with the order and sustained facial injuries when she was arrested, before being taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment.
A photo of Thomas on Saturday showed the severity of her injuries, with her entire right eye closed, swollen and bloody, while she sat in the back of an ambulance.
The right side of her face was also covered in blood while her eye was black.
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson wrote to Police Minister Yasmin Catley to complain about the actions of the officers at the rally.
‘I am writing to you to express my deep concern that no critical incident has been declared following the (alleged) assault by NSW Police against a community member at a public assembly in Belmore,’ Ms Higginson wrote.
‘As you know, a critical incident is an incident involving a NSW police officer that results in the death or serious injury of a person.
‘Having witnessed the grievous injuries (allegedly) caused by the police to Hannah Thomas, spoken to on ground witnesses who witnessed what occurred and with the knowledge that Hannah has experienced serious injuries and hospitalisation, I am calling for a critical incident to be declared urgently.’
Four others were arrested and charged during the protest, including a 24-year-old man who was allegedly found in possession of a stolen police body-worn camera.
Police said the camera was stolen by an unknown protester during a scuffle and was tracked to the 24-year-old’s location.
It is not clear exactly what caused Ms Thomas’ injuries.
The Greens meanwhile have said they have spoken with lawyers to potentially represent Ms Thomas and the other protesters who were arrested during the incident.
Ms Thomas has attended anti-Israel protests in the past, having called on to impose sanctions on Israel, whose government she accused of genocide.
She was among dozens of demonstrators who descended on Albanese’s electorate office to demand action after Greta Thunberg’s ‘Freedom Flotilla’ was seized by Israeli defence forces earlier this month.
A spokesperson for NSW Police previously told Daily Mail : ‘[Ms Thomas] sustained facial injuries while being arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a police direction and the arrest was discontinued and (she) was taken to Bankstown hospital for treatment.’