Australia: senator convicted of anti-Muslim remarks

On Friday, an Australian court ruled that Senator Pauline Hanson, leader of the populist right-wing One Nation party, had violated anti-discrimination laws by publishing remarks targeting a Muslim senator, Mehreen Faruqi.

This judgment, pronounced by the Federal Court, describes Hanson’s comments as “anti-Muslim” and orders the removal of the online message as well as the payment of Ms. Faruqi’s legal costs.

The case dates back to September 2022, the day of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. That day, Mehreen Faruqi expressed, in a message on X (formerly Twitter), her refusal to cry “someone who represented a racist empire”.

In response, Pauline Hanson publicly wrote to him to “go back to Pakistan”, despite Faruqi being a long-term Australian citizen.

Hanson attempted to defend her comments, saying she had not known Faruqi was Muslim when she posted her message. However, Justice Angus Stewart found the post was a personal attack, exacerbated by the senator’s large audience, and violated the country’s anti-discrimination laws.

At the end of the trial, Mehreen Faruqi welcomed this decision which she considers “historic”, emphasizing that it “establishes a precedent for the fight against racism and Islamophobia” in Australia.

Mehreen Faruqi also called on Pauline Hanson to be aware of the impact of her comments, accusing the senator of perpetuating racist discourse targeting Muslims, people of color and indigenous people for years.