US Consulate protest over Michael Brown killing

PROTESTERS have taken to the streets of Edinburgh to demonstrate their outrage at the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by police in the United States.

A protest has been held at the American Embassy in Edinburgh over the killing of teenager Michael Brown. Pic: Ian Georgeson

More than 250 people walked from Bristo Square to the US Consulate, near Calton Hill, waving placards and shouting slogans such as “Hand UP, Don’t Shoot” and “Black Lives Matter” in solidarity with demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, since the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in August.

The shooting has sparked mass civil unrest in the southern state and attracted attention from across the world.

Organiser Khanya Mtshali, a fourth year law student at Edinburgh University, said: “We are hoping to raise awareness about Ferguson and what is going on there as much of it isn’t in the mainstream media.”

The 22-year-old added: “We also want to support the family of Michael Brown as he was not a demon as he has been portrayed but a human being.”

The march was co-ordinated by the BME Liberation group at the university and a collection was taken for the Ferguson Defense Fund which pays for legal support for protesters in the Missouri suburb.