By Erin Pearson
Victoria Police has withdrawn charges against organisers of a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally following a failed bid to prosecute the pair for breaching lockdown restrictions.
Crystal McKinnon and Meriki Onus faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where Magistrate Andrew McKenna also ordered the chief commissioner pay the pair’s legal costs.
Meriki Onus (left) and Crystal McKinnon outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.Credit: Joe Armao
Those costs could be as high as $100,000 following a string of court appearances and the briefing of barristers.
McKinnon, an Amangu Yamaji woman, and Onus, a Gunai and Gunditjmara woman, were originally fined $1652 each for breaching lockdown restrictions when they organised a Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne in June 2020.
At the time the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was making global news headlines, and organisers of the Melbourne rally said they hoped their march would highlight systemic racism and the issue of Aboriginal deaths in custody.
About 10,000 people subsequently attended the Melbourne rally while COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were in place, which included stay-at-home measures that banned public gatherings of more than 20 people.
The Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne in June 2020. Credit: Chris Hopkins
Senior police, government officials and the chief health officer also criticised the event over fears it could spread COVID-19.
McKinnon and Onus chose to oppose the penalty and were scheduled to contest the matter in court.
In July 2022, the pair were advised the charges against them would be withdrawn after problems were discovered in the paperwork, before Victoria Police issued a public statement maintaining the women were mistakenly informed and officers intended to continue prosecuting the pair.
In November, police then unsuccessfully attempted to change the wording of the charges after the court heard a “fatal flaw” was discovered in documentation two years after it was issued.
On Tuesday, crown prosecutor Matt Fisher said as a result of the November decision “the prosecution seek to withdraw the charges”.
When contacted about the decision, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said the case was withdrawn because the court did not grant their application to amend an error in the charges.
As a result, the spokeswoman said there was “no reasonable prospect of conviction given how they were framed”.
The spokeswoman also said there were no other cases or related fines under review in need of being withdrawn due to the same legal issue.
On the steps of the courthouse, Onus said it had been a long and difficult three years but vowed to continue to fight against deaths in custody.
“We would like to extend our solidarity and support to all people and groups organising and fighting for justice to end racism and the ongoing violence here in occupied Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and across the globe,” Onus said.
“The fight is not over. One death in custody, one death by the state, is one too many.“
McKinnon thanked those who had stood by the pair and those who attended the public rally to share stories of racism and violence.
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