Indigenous elder's bid to charge King Charles with genocide rejected by Australian courts
Indigenous elder Robbie Thorpe's attempt to bring genocide charges against King Charles III was dismissed by the Victorian Court of Appeal, prompting him to seek an international forum.
Robbie Thorpe, a Krauatungalung elder and uncle of Senator Lidia Thorpe, has been trying since 2023 to hold King Charles III accountable for alleged genocide against Australia's First Peoples. He lodged a charge sheet in the Magistrates' Court of Victoria naming the king as the accused, but a senior registrar rejected it for not citing a proper source of law. The Supreme Court affirmed that ruling, and the Court of Appeal declined his request to overturn it, stating the alleged offences are not defined under Victorian law.
Thorpe described the domestic legal defeats as evidence of Australia's denial of its colonial crimes and announced plans to take the case to an international court, suggesting Turkey as a possible venue. He noted his earlier attempts to charge the Commonwealth with genocide in the 1990s and his long-standing activism, including co-founding Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne.
Why it matters
It highlights ongoing disputes over colonial accountability and the limits of domestic courts to address alleged genocide.
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