Update on campaign in defence of Hickey family from police harrassment

Well done to all those people who attended actions over the last couple of days and/or helped build them in defence of the persecuted Hickey family in Riverstone.
The current state of the case is that on May 25th the trial was adjourned until October 17 after two day of the cops lying through their teeth on the witness stand and contradicting their own statements. Importantly the bail conditions on the defendants (such as requirements to report to a police station) have been dropped. This is not only a good thing but sometimes can be an indication of where the court is headed. So the family are very happy and feeling confident.

However there is a danger that in the next five months until the trial resumes, consciousness about this issue amongst anti-racist sections of the public will dissipate and the cops and courts will seize on that to railroad through unjust convictions. So we will have to maintain publicity and agitation about this struggle and strengthen support within the organised workers movement in particular. Individual union officials have indicated support for this struggle.

Here is a Ten News shorts from Monday which talks about Monday's rally as its second item:
http://ten.com.au/ten-news-sydney.htm?movideo_m=108877

The full news story from Ten News which was quite sympathetic and substantial but is not available online.

Here is a link to the Sydney Morning Herald article written in the lead up to the trial: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/family-faces-new-row-with-police-20110522-1ez0...

And here is an article from the Daily telegraph online today: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/police-officer-denies-l...

Close relatives of the defendants wants us to do a rally (similar to Monday's one) in October when the trial resumes. That sounds right. Additionally we are also thinking of a rally/march in Parramatta on the weekend before the trial resumes, which (being on a weekend and not at 9am) would make it easier for fresh forces to participate in the campaign.

The family are thrilled with all the support they received this week and want it to continue.

Be prepared for the actions upcoming in October.

Background to case