"Rights groups condemn ‘police repression’ at ‘peaceful’ pro-Palestine rally in Sydney"

Protesters who attended a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Tuesday night that was forcibly broken up by police have disputed the New South Wales premier Chris Minns’ claim that the response to the event was reasonable.

NSW police arrested and charged 23 people who attended the protest at Port Botany directed at the unloading of a ship owned by Israeli company ZIM, which has supported the Israeli government in its fight with Hamas in Gaza.

The organisers, Palestine Justice Movement Sydney and Unionists for Palestine, along with civil rights groups, condemned the police for their response after riot squad and mounted officers forcibly tried to disperse the crowds, which included children.

Guardian Australia has spoken with a number of protesters who claimed the police were aggressive and appeared unconcerned about the potential for a crowd crush as a result of their actions.

An Australian Services Union member and protester [...] claimed the protest was a “peaceful sit-in” until police arrived and began “ripping up” attenders from the road in a “ruthless and rough” manner.

“They started pulling people up by their clothes and limbs,” she said.

“Cops were ripping up protesters. Mounted police started running their horses into the crowd.”...

“I found what has been really shocking is that despite how much footage there is, that the premier has backed the police.”...

journalist ... witnessed and filmed the police response and said in no instance did he see any of the protesters “act first”.

“They were not aggressive in the crowd. They were not provoking the officers in the crowds,” he said.

...showed the videos he took to Guardian Australia to corroborate his claims, said he did not think the way in which the officers were engaging with the protesters was proportionate...

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties, the Human Rights Law Centre and the Australian Democracy Network released a joint statement saying they were “deeply concerned” about the “police repression of a peaceful protest”.

They also accused police of causing a “crowd crush” and alleged that officers “physically pushed” several independent legal observers who were there.

The premier defended the police and said he “completely rejected” any suggestion their response was disproportionate...