George Floyd death: Anti-racism rallies in US, other countries demand justice

WASHINGTON: Demonstrators in Washington and other countries for racial justice following the death of George Floyd, as the movement triggered by his killing at police hands entered a second weekend.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have marched in Washington to protest against the brutality by U.S. law enforcement agencies as protests over the killing of a black man by Minneapolis police entered a second weekend.

In the UK, Parliament Square in central London was filled with people supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, despite calls by the government to avoid mass gatherings for fear of spreading the COVID-19.

In Australia, there were major protests in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane that focused on the treatment of indigenous Australians.

The current wave of mass protests in the US was sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, in police custody in the US state of Minnesota.

Floyd died on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis white police officer, pinned him to the ground with his knee for over eight minutes.

A total of four police officers involved in the arrest have been fired in connection with the incident.

On June 4, Authorities had announced new charges against all of the sacked police officers who were present at the death of African American George Floyd.

According to details, the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck was charged with a more serious count of second-degree murder, and the three other officers on scene during his killing were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Announcing the charges, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, “I strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for Mr. Floyd, his family, our community and our state.”

World leaders, politicians and celebrities including Justin Bieber, Lizzo, Harry Styles, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Cardi B, Selena Gomez, DJ Khalid, Taylor Swift,  Demi Lovato, Halsey, Camila Cabello and many more expressed their grief and sought justice against the police violence.