SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police detained at least one person on Tuesday and ordered another 50 people to disperse after meeting in Sydney to continue a Black Lives Matter protest despite an official ban over the pandemic of coronavirus.
Police officers issue fines to protesters, after police closed a demonstration that was deemed illegal, in Sydney, Australia, on July 28, 2020. REUTERS / Loren Elliott
The march was called to highlight the deaths of the detained Aborigines, building on the momentum of global demonstrations for racial justice and against police brutality.
Organizers had moved ahead with the meeting even though the courts upheld the police ban and promised to comply with restrictions on social distancing.
However, police arrested organizer Paddy Gibson in a public park shortly before the scheduled start of the march and ordered other participants to leave the area, according to a Reuters witness.
Reuters estimated that there were about 50 people gathered on a rainy day in the city, well below the 500 people organizers expected to attend before the ban.
Australia reported its largest single-day increase on Monday in cases after an infection outbreak in the state of Victoria.
The neighboring state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, is also fighting various groups of viruses and authorities have warned people participating in the demonstration that they are at risk of arrest.
Health Minister Greg Hunt made a final request that people not attend, asking them to use social media platforms or organize a silent vigil outside their homes.
“Don’t do it. You could take someone’s life. It’s as simple as that,” Hunt told Sky News.
Australia has recorded around 15,000 cases of COVID-19 and 167 deaths, although authorities have warned that people could die after the increase in cases.
Reports by Renju Jose, Colin Packham, Jill Gralow and James Redmayne; editing by Jane Wardell
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