A barefoot activist tried to “plead insanity” after being charged under Queensland’s new hate speech laws for displaying a banned phrase at a protest.
James “Jim” Joseph Dowling, 70, appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday April 14 charged with recital, distribution, publication or display of prohibited expressions for allegedly displaying a pro-Palestine phrase barred by Queensland’s new hate speech laws.
When used to menace or offend, the phrases ‘From the River to the Sea’ and ‘globalise the intifada’ are now outlawed in Queensland.
“I’d like to plead insanity, I think the charge is insane, anyone who takes it seriously is a bit sus as well,” he told the court.
Magistrate Belinda Merrin questioned Mr Dowling’s plea.
“That is a right that you have, but it will be for you to prove,” she said.
“Do you have a plan for that?”
Mr Dowling clarified: “Not that I think I’m insane, I think the law is insane”.
It was noted he would contest the charge, but no plea was officially noted on record.
Mr Dowling appeared in court barefoot, a self-proclaimed signature look for the staunch activist.
Outside of court, the anti-war protester ridiculed the “absurd” charge.
“Some people are offended by anything; ‘From the River to the Sea’, how can it possibly offend anyone?” he asked.
“I think the majority of people in this country would agree with me that the law is crazy.
“To be put behind bars for pointing that fact out would be totally absurd.”
Mr Dowling said he was charged with the offence during a protest outside Boeing’s Brisbane headquarters earlier this year.
“I’ve been resisting the arms trade, merchants of death, for at least 40 years,” he said.
“For two years we’ve been going (to Boeing) every Wednesday.
“After this insane law was introduced I held a placard outside Boeing that said ‘From the River to the Sea’.
“(Police) asked me what it meant and I said ‘well it means we don’t want Boeing anywhere in Brisbane from the river over there right out to the ocean’.
“They asked me ‘do you know when this phrase was introduced?’
“(I said) probably about ten thousand years ago when they invented English.
“And here I am today charged with this amazing law.”
While Mr Dowling claimed he had since joined the protest against the war in Palestine, he denied using the phrase for its Palestinian roots.
“There was no mention of anything to do with other politics, just Boeing,” he said.
During his speech, Mr Dowling joked he would be arrested again for using the same phrase to explain his appearance at court.
“No cops around?” he asked.
Justice for Palestine organiser Remah Naji spoke on behalf of protesters who gathered to support Mr Dowling outside court.
“This is how absurd these laws (are),” Ms Naji said.
“We call on the Queensland government and (David) Crisafulli to immediately repeal these stupid laws that restrict our ability, Queenslanders ability, to oppose genocide.
“They restrict our freedom of speech.”
Among Mr Dowling’s supporters was Liam Parry, the first person charged under the new state hate speech laws.
Mr Parry appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on the same charge on April 8 after allegedly reciting the phrase ‘From the River to the Sea’ during a demonstration in Brisbane’s CBD.
Mr Dowling told media he had previously spent time in custody but was not concerned about going back to prison on these charges.
“I’m here to protest the arms race, protest the mass murder that is being carried on,” he said.
“Whatever happens to me in court is not a big issue.
“How can you take seriously that it is a crime to say the words ‘From the River to the Sea’?”
Mr Dowling has indicated he will be self-represented in his matter before the court.
He is due to appear next in Brisbane Magistrates Court on April 29.
