Exclusive: Assault on Shamikh Badra captured on video and incident labelled ‘unacceptable’ by attorney general, but sole charge highlights issues with hate speech laws
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Palestinian Australian film-maker Shamikh Badra, who alleged to police that he was assaulted and racially abused on a Sydney train following an anti-immigration march, is “shocked” that police charged his assailant with common assault but not hate speech.
The August assault, which was filmed by Shamikh’s brother, Majed Badra, on his phone and also captured on CCTV, has raised questions about the NSW government’s controversial attempt to criminalise racial vilification – and the lack of prosecutions.