See http://rac-vic.org/?p=520 for details of this rally. Reports to follow.* [Added 2 August: there is a report plus audio files from the event on The Apple Core] Here are a few photos from the rally at the State Library up to the start of the march:

*So far (as at Monday 29 July) we can find only two reports online: on the website of Socialist Alternative, and as part of an article on Manus Island on the 7News site.
The SA account rightly described this as “the biggest refugee rights action in a decade” – the last one of comparable size would have been the Palm Sunday “Refugee Hope March” of 4 April 2004 – but their estimate of ‘more than5000′ may have been a little high. Apart from the speakers quoted by SA there were also The Greens Adam Bandt and former detainee Ali Bakhtiavandi, as well as singer-songwriter and human rights activist Les Thomas with his guitar (see http://lettersforranjini.com/free-ranjini-song-by-les-thomas/). As can be seen from the accompanying photos, there was a prominent Anarchist showing, and amongst the stalls there were the Socialist Party and Solidarity, as well as the Refugee Action Collective and – a first for this blog – the Wikileaks Party.

For this update we have added a few more photos, including another dog.