Second ‘victim’ stands by Drew Pavlou

A second alleged victim of online abuse by suspended University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou says he never complained.

Suspended University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou. Picture: AAP

A second alleged victim of online abuse by now-suspended University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou says he never complained and was unaware of being named in disciplinary action against the campus activist.

As UQ’s senate held a special meeting on Friday over the two-year suspension of Mr Pavlou, it emerged that the postgraduate student and a former staff member­ say the university used them to “manufacture” misconduct char­g­es against the activist.

Mr Pavlou’s lawyer, Tony Morris QC, has now included statements from both in the appeal­ against the suspension.

A disciplinary panel suspen­d­ed Mr Pavlou after a closed-door hearing into 11 allegations over his campus activism, including leading a pro-Hong Kong demo­cracy protest last year and criticism of Chinese influence at UQ.

Chancellor Peter Varghese issued a statement raising his “concern” about the severity of the penalty and calling for an out-of-session senate meeting.

Vice-chancellor Peter Hoj, a target of Mr Pavlou’s criticism, recused himself from senate deliberations and the student activ­ist was excluded on the grounds he had a conflict of interest.

The postgraduate student, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote to Mr Morris on Friday morning saying that he had only just learned he had been “included in a series of enumerated complaints the university has collated against” Mr Pavlou.

In the appeal submission, Mr Morris said there was no evidence given in the disciplinary proceedings that “a single witness was contacted or interviewed who claims to have been subjected to the treatment which Mr Pavlou is alleged to have ­inflicted upon them’’.

Last night Mr Varghese ­issued a statement saying the senate reaffirmed its view “no student should be penalised for the lawful expression of personal political views’’. No action would be taken on Mr Pavlou’s suspension while his appeal was being heard.