NSW police to drop charges against Isaac Herzog protesters laid using unlawful public assembly restrictions

Charges laid under a now defunct law against people who attended a Sydney protest against Isaac Herzog will be dropped, police have confirmed, but it remains unclear how many of the 30 protesters charged the decision affects. The New South Wales police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said on ABC Radio on Wednesday morning that, pending a review, police would drop charges laid under the public assembly restriction declaration (Pard) law. That law was in force during the February protest at Sydney’s town hall against the Israeli president’s visit to Australia and was cited by police as the reason a march could not go ahead. Last month, the court of appeal struck down the Pard law , ruling in favour of the Palestine Action Group and Blak Caucus, and finding giving police the power to restrict all protests for a period of 90 days after a terrorist attack was unconstitutional. The law was introduced after December’s Bondi beach terror attack , in which 15 people were killed and more than 40 injured when two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish celebration of Hanukah at a park. Lanyon said on Wednesday that police were also investigating if directions given under a separate “major events” declaration, which gave police expanded move on and search powers, were lawful. …