Australian court rejects activist Uncle's third bid to prosecute King Charles for genocide

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026 · last updated 29 September 2026.

An Australian Court of Appeal has dismissed Indigenous elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe's latest attempt to mount a private prosecution of King Charles III over the alleged genocide of Aboriginal people — his third successive legal defeat since 2023. Thorpe, a 68-year-old Krautatungalung elder, has one domestic avenue left: a difficult appeal to Australia's High Court, which accepts only around ten per cent of applications. Anticipating no fair hearing on home soil, he says he plans to take his case to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. King Charles enjoys broad immunity from criminal and civil liability in the UK, a protection Australian courts have equally recognised.

Thorpe's case alleges King Charles, as Australia's head of state, perpetuates systems that leave Indigenous Australians with shorter lives, worse health and higher imprisonment rates.

'The International Criminal Court will expose Australia for what it really is — a lying, racist, illegal occupation committing genocide,' Thorpe declared after Monday's ruling.

Indigenous Australians make up roughly four per cent of Australia's population but face substantially higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment than their non-Indigenous counterparts.