Submitted by LillianR on Sun, 14/06/2020 - 18:37
120 pairs of shoes laid out to represent the 120 detainees inside the Kangaroo Point detention centre. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Protesting detainees look on from their balcony during speeches by activists on Main St. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Protesters on Main St. cross their arms above their head in a show of solidarity with detainees. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Protest organiser, Alice Wicks sports a black eye after being arrested by police on Thursday evening for preventing a vehicle from removing a detainee to BITA. They refused bail conditions that would ban them from returning to the detention centre for the next 3 months and accepted a $500 fine for charges of public nuisance and obstructing police. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
A protest marshal keeps an eye on the footpath, more blockaders have set up for overnight camping behind him. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Serco private security keep an eye on the protest from inside the detention centre. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Protesters use chalk and spray paint to write messages of support on the road. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Several kids add their own artworks to the road. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Wangerriburra and Birra Gubba activist Sam Woripa Watson addresses the crowd. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Protesters hold signs up for detainees to see from their balcony. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Some protesters improvise cardboard signs. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Organisers are emotional during 7 minutes of silence, 1 minute for each year Kangaroo Point detainees have spent in detention. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
A speaker, quietly emotional during the 7 minutes silence. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
This woman’s partner is detained inside at the Kangaroo Point detention centre. Her partner was in detention when his son was born and has never held him. She is waiting on the outcome of negotiations with police that could allow her partner to hug her son. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
A protester stands silently in front of police, as they block off access to the hotel entrance. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
As Media take photos, the original officer swaps places with another officer. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Meanwhile, designated Police Liaisons are in talks with a police negotiator. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
A front line of protesters faces a front line of police on Main St. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
Rows of officers prepare to clear Main St at 5pm, when the authorisation for the Main St. road closure expires. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
The front line of protesters refusing to move off the road, including Greens candidate for South Brisbane, Amy McMahon [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]
6 police vans on Main St after protesters have been cleared from the road. [4ZZZ/Lillian Rangiah]

Protesters were emotional at a National Day of Action for refugees outside a detention centre in Kangaroo Point yesterday.

They gathered in solidarity with 120 refugees and asylum seekers detained inside Kangaroo Point Central Hotel, who have been protesting their conditions from the hotel balcony for months.

Activists and detainees addressed the crowd through a PA system set up on Main Street.

Tension arose with police when protesters on the street demanded a detainee be allowed to hug his three-year-old son, whom he had never touched. Organisers called on protesters to de-escalate as they negotiated with police. Ultimately the hug was not allowed.

Police forcibly cleared the street at 5pm, threatening to detain anyone who blocked the road.

Some activists remain at the site, blockading the detention centre to prevent detainees from being removed to BITA, a higher-security facility.

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