Tasmania Police express regret over jailing protester for three days

Victorian man Billy Rodwell, 23, was arrested in May during a protest in the Tarkine region against mining company MMG's proposal to develop a tailings dam for its Rosebery mine.

Mr Rodwell on Sunday said his arrest had resulted from a minor and misconstrued action involving a gate and a security during the protest.

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"At that moment, I thought I was just going to get a move-on order [from police] with my other two colleagues," he said.

Instead, he was taken to a holding cell in Burnie after which he was refused bail in an out-of-hours court sitting and then taken to Launceston remand centre, spending three nights in custody all up.

Mr Rodwell described the experience as confronting.

"I had no contact with the outside world," he said.

"It felt like I had none of my rights as an Australian citizen."

In a letter to legal representatives for the Bob Brown Foundation, Tasmania Police principle legal officer Mark Miller said Mr Rodwell is wrongfully denied bail.

He said this was because he was considered a flight risk, having come to the state from Victoria.

"Tasmania Police regrets the stress and inconvenience that would have undoubtedly caused Mr Rodwell," Mr Miller said.

Police have dropped two of three charges against Mr Rodwell, including a charge of assault.

Jenny Weber, from the Bob Brown Foundation, said the group was outraged that Mr Rodwell was held in jail for three days on an ill-founded assault charge.

Dr Brown said Mr Rodwell was one of 30 Bob Brown Foundation protesters that had been arrested for undertaking protest action in the Tarkine over the past month.

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