NSW police to drop charges against Isaac Herzog protesters laid using unlawful public assembly restrictions

Lawyers calling for all charges to be withdrawn after Sydney town hall rally against Israeli president

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Charges laid under a now defunct law against people who attended a Sydney protest against Isaac Herzog will be dropped, police have confirmed, but it remains unclear how many of the 30 protesters charged the decision affects.

The New South Wales police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said on ABC Radio on Wednesday morning that, pending a review, police would drop charges laid under the public assembly restriction declaration (Pard) law. That law was in force during the February protest at Sydney’s town hall against the Israeli president’s visit to Australia and was cited by police as the reason a march could not go ahead.