On Tuesday July 14th, a sea of bright orange gathered around on William Street outisde the Supreme Court of Victoria, in protest for the justice of Isla Bell. Demanding a Royal Commission on femicide, in alignement to the National Plan to End Gendered Violence by 2032.
“Next week, a Magistrate may decide to drop the charge against Marat Ganiev of Perverting the Course of Justice in relation to what I believe was the murder of my 19 year old daughter, Isla Bell.
The Fawkner Missing Persons Unit threw everything they had at the case following these men for over 6 weeks before charging them with murder, murder assist.
The Detectives had enough evidence before it got into the hands of our legal system and was watered down to one man walking free and another with a lesser charge that might persuade him to enter a guilty plea and be rewarded for it! Done deal, shop shut! The OPP and DPP used a risk averse model that commodified my daughter, Isla, trading community expectations for bureaucratic convenience.
The Office of Perpetrator Protection and Private Prosecution treated Isla like a line item in a budget running a cold risk assessment calculation, rather than pursuing the moral demands of justice, perpetrator accountability and public safety.
When will our State Government intervene and use the health and safety of women and children as a Key Performance Indicator instead of hitting budget targets?
The OPP treat crimes like corporate transaction where they only invest if a win is completely guaranteed, reducing Isla’s stolen life to a statistic.
They commodified her memory by deciding that avoiding a difficult or complex circumstantial trial is worth more than giving a grieving mother -my rightful day before a jury.
The truth needs to be told in order for justice to prevail instilling morality and a sense of safety back into the community.
The OPP prioritise their conviction rates and legal metrics over the basic human duty to test suspicious grotesque behaviour in court, stripping victims of their humanity.
A conveyor belt of dead women and children piling up out the back.
We, the people demand that Attorney General, Sonya Kilkenny sets a precedent, and draws a line in the sand. The culture of private prosecution before it makes it to a jury must end and align with our National Plan to End Gendered Violence by 2032. I will be calling for an urgent, unrestricted coronial inquest to expose the full truth of my daughter Isla’s death the moment the remaining sentencing concludes.
Check your wheelie bins.”
– Justine Spoke’s, July 14th 2026
Photos taken by Ruby Saige
