Brisbane political activist Drew Pavlou detained in UK over ‘bomb threats’

Consular assistance has been offered to Brisbane activist Drew Pavlou following his arrest in London, with officials saying the would raise his claim he was denied access to them before he was released.

Consular assistance has been offered to Brisbane activist Drew Pavlou following his arrest in London, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.

A department spokeswoman confirmed Mr Pavlou, 23, had been arrested and subsequently released in the United Kingdom.

According to Twitter posts from Mr Pavlou’s account, he had been detained in London after holding a “small, peaceful” human rights protest with a Uyghur flag outside London’s Chinese Embassy.

Mr Pavlou claimed he was arrested after a fake email saying “this is Drew Pavlou, you have until 12pm to stop the Uyghur genocide or I blow up the embassy with a bomb, regards Drew” was sent to London authorities.

The department spokeswoman said officials from Australia’s high commission in London would raise Mr Pavlou’s claim that he was denied consular access before being released with UK authorities.

A post from Mr Pavlou’s Twitter account about 2pm on Saturday (Australian time) confirmed he had been in contact with the high commission.

University of Queensland student activist Drew Pavlou claims to have been arrested in the United Kingdom over being reported for making “bomb threats” which he says came from a fake email. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Mr Pavlou told The Sunday Mail on Saturday night he had not been formally charged with any offences.

Mr Pavlou’s mother Vanessa said she was considering flying to the UK in a show of support for her distressed son.

Ms Pavlou said he had been treated like a terrorist and had taken his mobile phone from him.

She said while Mr Pavlou had been released by London authorities, he was not allowed to leave the country until its investigation was completed.

“We need to bring him home but at the moment, he can’t leave,” Ms Pavlou said.

“He faces arrest if he tries to go through the airport.

“It’s a complete set up and he’s been an easy target being so vocal and proactive, which they don’t like.”

Mr Pavlou earlier said he faced a seven-year jail sentence and had been held by British police for nearly 24 hours.

“This is absurdly fake,” Mr Pavlou tweeted.

“British police held me for 23 hours, I was held incommunicado with no ability to tell anybody where I was, I was denied access to lawyer for more than 10 hours, they claimed my lawyers were not available but my lawyers called the police dozens of times.

I currently face 7 years in prison because the Chinese Embassy forwarded UK Police a fake email from ''[e-mail]'' saying ''This is Drew Pavlou you have until 12 PM to stop the Uyghur Genocide or I blow up the embassy with a bomb regards Drew.'' THIS IS INSANE

— Drew Pavlou (@DrewPavlou) July 22, 2022

“They pressured me to hold interview without lawyers present, I was only allowed one five minute monitored phone call after 20 hours. They seized my phone and said I can‘t leave the country.”

Mr Pavlou also tweeted being woken up at 4am for an interview without solicitors and that he was hand cuffed and put in a “high stress” position.

He said one of his friends was also arrested on “conspiracy” charges.

“British police pressured me into giving them my phone password by threatening to charge me with crimes related to obstructing investigation which carry a further 5 year prison sentence,” his Twitter thread read.

University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou.

“British police also denied me access to Australian consular authorities.”

London-based human rights activist Benedict Rogers described the treatment of Mr Pavlou as “totally absurd and an outrageous injustice”.

Mr Rogers tweeted his support of Mr Pavlou as a “heroic” and dedicated activist who highlighted genocide and repression issues throughout the world.

“He should be applauded, not arrested,” Mr Rogers tweeted.

The Metropolitan Police declined to confirm if Mr Pavlou had been arrested but a spokesman said a man was found in possession of a glue and “had attempted to glue his hand to the outside of the embassy building”.

“The man was arrested on suspicion of trespass on diplomatic premises, communicating false information to make a bomb hoax and criminal damage,” a statement said.

“He was taken into custody at Charing Cross police station.

“Having been booked into custody, the man was offered legal advice and a duty solicitor was called at 20:22hrs on 21 June. This is recorded in the man’s custody record.

“The man was released from custody at 15:56 on 22 June. He has been bailed to return pending further enquiries.”

It comes after Mr Pavlou made headlines at Wimbledon after he says he was “thrown down stairs” by security after holding up a sign reading “Where is Peng Shuai?” during the men's singles final.

Play was briefly halted in the third set when both Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic looked to the kerfuffle in the stands.

The 23-year-old also claimed responsibility for disrupting former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s election campaign where a man dressed as Kim Jong-un gatecrashed a press conference.

Originally published as Brisbane political activist Drew Pavlou detained in UK over ‘bomb threats’