Diana Abdel-Rahman OAM said she is satisfied with the outcome of the police investigation. Photo: Supplied.
Police have ended their investigation into the alleged assault of a Canberra multicultural leader without laying charges, but she said she is satisfied with the outcome as officers believe the incident was not racially motivated.
The Canberra Multicultural Community Forum’s deputy chair, Diana Abdel-Rahman OAM, was walking through East Row in Civic on 13 April after attending a rally in support of refugees when a man allegedly hit her from behind.
He also allegedly took a flag she was carrying, which displayed both the Palestinian and Lebanese flags, and threw it on the ground before running away.
The alleged assault was met with an outcry by politicians, leaders and organisations across the ACT and concerns were raised that it may have been racially motivated.
But this week, Ms Abdel-Rahman told Region that while police identified the man involved, they ended the investigation without proceeding to charges.
She said police kept her updated during the investigation, and she described them as being very cordial.
They identified the man involved, but told her he may have “some issues” and refused to speak to them, she said.
“They did tell me a couple of things that made me realise it wasn’t racially motivated,” she said.
“They did tell me that when they asked him about the incident, he said he couldn’t remember it.”
She said she was convinced police had done their due diligence, had explained their findings to her and she was happy to end the investigation.
“I’m very satisfied with the way it was handled and the way they kept me informed all the way through,” she said.
Police wanted to identify this man over the alleged assault of Diana Abdel-Rahman in East Row, Civic, on 13 April. Photo: ACT Policing.
Ms Abdel-Rahman said the main issue that had concerned her was whether the incident was racially motivated because the man grabbed the flag.
“If that was the real issue, I didn’t want it to happen to anyone else,” she said.
Region reached out to ACT Policing about the development and a police spokesperson confirmed that after speaking with witnesses and reviewing CCTV footage, police were able to identify the man.
“The matter was investigated; however, no offences were substantiated due to an insufficient level of evidence to prove the offence of assault. However, police were satisfied the incident was not racially motivated,” the spokesperson said.
“ACT Policing considers this matter finalised.”
When asked how she now reflected on the incident, Ms Abdel-Rahman said it was important to remember there were people in the community who were dealing with all sorts of issues.
“It goes back to that main issue of how do we look after those in the community who do need help,” she said.
“General society is full of all sorts of people.
“How we look after each other and help each other out is key to a really good community.”
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