A private prosecution has been filed in Australia against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, accusing him of genocide and crimes against humanity under Australian law, as mass protests continue across the country over his official visit.
Lawyers representing Melbourne academic Tasnim Sammak have lodged a charge sheet before the Magistrates' Court of Victoria, alleging eight serious offences under the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995, including genocide, which allows Australian courts to exercise jurisdiction over certain international crimes.
The filing follows a joint legal complaint submitted last month by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), the Jewish Council of Australia, and the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), which called on the government to arrest or bar Herzog from entering the country.
The most serious charge alleges that Herzog, through public statements and conduct, aided and abetted the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.
Additional charges include crimes against humanity and incitement under Victorian law, referencing statements made in October 2023 that were broadcast internationally and received in Australia.
Sammak, who is bringing the case as a private informant, says she has lost 162 members of her extended family during Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, including relatives killed while sheltering in the Bureij refugee camp.
"My family have been refugees in Gaza since 1967," she said in a statement. "Over a dozen of my relatives were killed when the Israeli army bombarded the Bureij refugee camp. Four women of my family were killed together in one room."
Her lawyer, Marco Man, said the case was supported by a substantial evidentiary dossier and argued that no official was beyond accountability under the rule of law.
The Hind Rajab Foundation has announced it will seek leave to intervene as amicus curiae if proceedings advance, arguing that head-of-state immunity should not shield individuals from prosecution for serious international crimes.
"International criminal law exists precisely to address situations where state power is used to destroy a protected population," HRF director Dyab Abou Jahjah said in a statement. "Immunity cannot become a mechanism of impunity."
Herzog’s visit has sparked large demonstrations across Australia, where thousands took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, calling for accountability over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
In Sydney, police deployed heavy security as around 5,000 protesters gathered near Town Hall, accusing Herzog of complicity in war crimes and condemned Israel's military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 people and devastated much of Gaza's infrastructure.
Security has been heightened throughout the visit, with thousands of police officers deployed and road closures in place.
Private prosecutions are uncommon in Australia but are permitted under certain circumstances. The case represents an attempt to use domestic courts to address alleged violations of international criminal law where international mechanisms are viewed by activists as slow or constrained.
Whether the prosecution proceeds will depend on procedural rulings and potential intervention by Australian authorities.