A man who allegedly punched a police horse at Sydney s anti-lockdown protest will be kept behind bars after refusing to take a Covid-19 test.
Kristian Pulkownik, 33, allegedly struck NSW Police horse Tobruk in the nose as his rider was managing thousands of protesters who marched in the city s CBD last Saturday as part of the Rally 4 Freedom march .
He d been hit with a string of charges including affray, committing an act of cruelty upon an animal, and breaching a Covid-19 restriction.
Pulkownik was set to appear via video link at the Central Local Court on Thursday morning but Magistrate Mark Richardson told the court he couldn t leave his cell due to his refusal to have a Covid swab, the ABC reported.
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A Sydney protester accused of striking a police horse is being held in isolation in jail after refusing to take a COVID-19 test, a court has heard.
Kristian Pulkownik was arrested at a Surry Hills unit on Saturday night after the anti-lockdown protest in the CBD. He is being held in Parklea Correctional Centre, in the city’s north-west.
Kristian Pulkownik is being held in isolation at Parklea prison.
Credit:Brook Mitchell
The 33-year-old has been charged with affray, committing an act of cruelty upon an animal, joining or continuing in an unlawful assembly and failing to comply with a COVID-19 noticed direction.
Barrister Hollie Blake told central local court on Thursday the legal team were still having difficulty obtaining instructions from Pulkownik, as the court previously heard on Tuesday. “This is Corrective Services continually making it impossible for my client to have access to his legal representative,” she said. Magistrate Mark Richardson said there was a note on the file, with Wednesday’s date of July 28, that said Pulkownik was “unfit to attend court”. “He’s receiving medical treatment, that’s what I know to be the facts,” he said. “What do you expect me to do?” Blake asked for contact to be made with the jail.
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A Sydney protester accused of striking a police horse is being held in isolation in jail after refusing to take a COVID-19 test, a court has heard.
Kristian Pulkownik was arrested at a Surry Hills unit on Saturday night after the anti-lockdown protest in the CBD. He is being held in Parklea Correctional Centre, in the city’s north-west.
Kristian Pulkownik is being held in isolation at Parklea prison.
Credit:Brook Mitchell
The 33-year-old has been charged with affray, committing an act of cruelty upon an animal, joining or continuing in an unlawful assembly and failing to comply with a COVID-19 noticed direction.