MELBOURNE, 12 January, 2025: Three people have been arrested by the Greater Dandenong Crime Investigation Unit following an hate crime incident in Dandenong South on the weekend.
A Victoria Police media release says, ” It is alleged a man and woman were travelling in their car when they were racially abused from occupants of a small black hatch along South Gippsland Highway about 7.40pm on 10 January. The offending vehicle allegedly continued to block the victim’s car, forcing them into a nearby service station. It is alleged the occupants of the hatch alighted their vehicle and continued to racially abuse the victims as well as damage their vehicle.”
Among the trio arrested, one has been charged and is in custody, another has been bailed, and woman was released pending summons, the police says.
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), in a media statement (11 January, 2025) posted on X has identified the man and women travelling in the car as ‘a Victorian Imam and his wife’ who were targeted after the assailants identified them as Muslim, triggering an outpouring of anti-Muslim hatred, racial abuse and violence.”
“The attackers boxed in their vehicle, hurled objects at their car, drove dangerously to intimidate them, then exited their vehicle to assault the Imam and threaten his wife with stabbing. The Imam was punched in the face, and his vehicle was damaged while bystanders intervened to stop further harm.”
” ANIC also warns that political rhetoric and irresponsible media commentary are actively fuelling this violence, particularly the dangerous false equivalence being drawn between peaceful pro-Palestinian advocacy and the Bondi terror attacks. This framing has contributed directly to a surge in Islamophobic abuse, threats and physical assaults, both online and in our streets, ” it says.
The Victoria Police statement concluded, ” There is absolutely no place for prejudice-motivated, religious based or hate-based behaviour in our society and such activity will not be tolerated.”
NOTE- This is a developing story & will be updated as and when required.
