(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
A hardline Islamic group has criticised a crackdown on alleged homegrown terror plots during a snap protest in Sydney's southwest.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has called on the Muslim community to stand as one against what it called "government aggression" -- following a series of pre-dawn anti-terror raids.
Manny Tsigas reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Up to 200 people gathered next to Lakemba train station hours after 15 people were detained during raids across Sydney.
Allegations of brutal tactics by counter-terrorism authorities has sparked a wave of apprehension-- with a handful of speakers expressing concerns not only about the raids-- but the government's impending anti-terror laws.
The rally was organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group that's reportedly been targeted in the federal government's plans to expand the rules for proscribing terrorist organisations in Australia.
Its spokesman Uthman Badar says the raids were not justified and were aimed to create hysteria.
"We're not here to disrupt security. Muslims are as much concerned about security and peace as anyone else. But at the same time we're not fools. We're not fools to be fooled by spin, and propaganda and the politicisation of security."
The rally also heard from an anonymous youth in the crowd who said his house was among those raided.
The young man alleges police assaulted his mother as she tried to cover herself with a bed sheet.
"He punched my mother in the ear, he punched her on the ear, the dog. They grabbed me and pushed me on the floor. They grabbed my hands and handcuffed me, puts his foot on the back of my neck and then grabs me and chucks me onto the wall."
Despite the angry tone of some speeches much of the event was calm -- ending after about an hour with a prayer.
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