First Hate Speech Charge Under Queensland's New Laws

0:00It's April 8th. This is Sydney News Today, driven by AI. A 33-year-old man named Liam Perry became the first person charged under Queensland's new hate speech laws after reciting the phrase from. The river to the sea at a protest embraced been central business district on March 11th. These laws, past last month, ban certain phrases like that, one in globalized the intifada when they're used to harass or offend, with penalties up. To two years in prison for spoken or written use at events like rallies. An 18-year-old woman got arrested, too, for wearing the phrase on her shirt, but was let go without charges. Dozens of pro-Palestinian supporters rallied outside Brisbane magistrates court on Wednesday as Perry faced the single count of publicly displaying a prohibited expression. Police even warned a 70-year-old protestor to drop a sign with a flipped version of the ban phrase. Organized by students for Palestine, the group says more actions are coming this month, and Perry told reporters he plans to fight the charge head on. The case got adjourned

1:03until April 29th, so we'll see how this test of the new rules plays out amid the ongoing debates over free speech and hate.