SHAH ALAM – Hannah Thomas, the daughter of former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, sustains a serious injury to her right eye during an arrest by the Australian police at a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney, last Friday.
Now, there were fears she may permanently lose her vision in that eye.
In an Instagram video speaking about the incident, Hannah, 35, said her personal trauma was minor compared to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
"What I’ve gone through is obviously nothing compared to what people in Gaza are going through because of Israel.
"Children are being amputated without anesthetics, people having to choose between starving to death or getting shot, lining up for food. That's happening right now and that's why we protested on Friday and that's why we'll keep protesting," she said.
She also criticised the implementation of Australia's anti-protest laws calling them "draconian" and an attempt to demonise protesters, especially protesters for Palestine.
"I don't want to get into too much detail about the traumatic events on Friday, but I’m five-foot-one, I weigh about 45kg. I was engaged in peaceful protests and my interactions with the New South Wales (NSW) police have left me potentially without vision in my right eye permanently," she said.
According to British daily newspaper The Guardian, the protest took place outside a business in Belmore accused of "supplying electroplating and surface coating services for a variety of applications including aerospace and defence technology" to Israel.
Around 50 to 60 individuals participated in the protest, which aimed to block pedestrian access to the premises.
However, at around 5.30am, police declared the protest "unauthorised" and issued a move-on order saying there was no official application filed for the protest, which meant participants were not legally protected.
Hannah, who previously ran as a candidate against Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the Sydney seat of Grayndler, was alleged to have refused to comply with police orders and was forcibly removed and arrested.
It was reported that she sustained facial injuries during the arrest and was taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment.
Images shared online showed significant swelling around her right eye, fuelling fears among those close to her that the damage may be irreversible.
The incident sparked widespread outrage, with several members of the Australian Greens party calling for a formal investigation into the incident.
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson urged that the matter be classified as a critical incident, a designation that would trigger an internal police investigation into the use of force.
At present, NSW police have declined to open a critical incident investigation.
Higginson described the protest as peaceful and claimed that the police were using "brutal excessive force."
She rejected claims that the protest was unlawful, stating that "all protests are lawful in terms of the gathering of people on public land."
Hannah had also in her video conveyed her appreciation to those who had shown concern and support, adding that she was receiving proper care and being well looked after.
She had been issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for allegedly hindering or resisting a police officer and failing to comply with a direction to disperse.
She is scheduled to appear at Bankstown Local Court on Aug 12.