University of Queensland (UQ) student and UQ Senator Drew Pavlou has said that the university is threatening to prosecute him for contempt of court.
In a press conference on the university campus on Monday, Pavlou told reporters that he had received documents from UQ’s lawyers Clayton Utz alleging that he had misused emails subpoenaed and provided to him by the university.
Clayton Utz will allegedly commence proceedings against Pavlou for contempt of court, which carries a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment. The Epoch Times reached out to Clayton Utz on Monday but did not receive a response.
In a video posted on Twitter on Monday, Pavlou said: “This is really a truly extraordinary step for a public university to take.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever seen a case like this before in Australia or the world,” he said. “A public university now trying to prosecute a student, now threatening them with jail time, simply for criticising their relationships with the Chinese [regime].
“UQ is seeking to imprison me for three years, expulsion is not enough. It’s absolutely sick.”
Accompanying the video, he wrote:
“UQ is now going further than expulsion, threatening to prosecute me for contempt of court, something that carries a penalty of three years imprisonment. This campaign against me due to my criticism of their links to the Chinese government is insane.”
The incident is the latest in a long-running saga beginning last year, where Pavlou helped organise a rally on the grounds of UQ to support the Hong Kong pro-democracy marches.
The rally turned violent however when pro-CCP students arrived on the scene causing a physical altercation between student groups.
The consul general had published a statement on the embassy website saying the protest organisers behind the UQ rally were involved in “anti-China separatist activities.”
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