Aboriginal activist files genocide case against ex-Israel envoy to UK in Australia court

Aboriginal Australian activist Robbie Thorpe, uncle of Senator Lidia Thorpe, filed a private prosecution case against Mark Regev, former senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of advocating genocide against Palestinians.

The case, brought under section 80.2D of the Australian Criminal Code, was heard earlier this month at Melbourne Magistrates Court.

In a public statement before the hearing, Thorpe announced: “I find it offensive that this country that committed genocide against us is now allowing our country to be used as a base to advocate genocide against Palestinian people. How Australia responds to the Genocide Convention is important to me, considering it wasn’t an offence until recently. Colonial Australia has failed to prevent genocide, and they have failed to punish anyone for these crimes here, or anywhere, despite the 1948 Genocide Convention.”

He added: “This is a significant case because it is engaging the act, and no person is immune – not the King, not the Prime Minister, Attorney Generals, nobody, not anybody is immune from being prosecuted on genocide charges. This case opens the door for Aboriginal genocide claims around this continent, and elsewhere around the world, for anybody.”

Thorpe, alongside his lawyer Daniel Taylor, attended the opening statements of the case, which seeks to hold Regev accountable for comments made in the Australian media promoting genocidal actions against the people of Gaza.

Mark Regev, who holds both Australian and Israeli citizenship and previously served as Israel’s Ambassador to the UK, was charged with advocating genocide for remarks made on ABC Radio National on 10 October 2023.

In the broadcast, Regev defended the Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant’s decision to impose a total siege on Gaza, cutting off essential supplies including electricity, food, water and fuel. Critics argue that this amounts to advocating for collective punishment and starvation.

Thorpe and his legal team state this meets the criteria for genocide under Australian law.

Appearing on Regev’s behalf, lawyer Dennis Miralis revealed that Israel had formally requested the Australian government intervene to quash the case, contacting the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the matter.

The DPP is aware of the case, and further hearings have been scheduled for 10 December, pending any legal challenges regarding jurisdiction or intervention from the DPP.

Israel’s war on GAza has displaced almost the entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine. Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its actions in Gaza.

Read: Israel deliberately killed 12 civilians from same family in Gaza, rights group finds