Iran Press/ America: Amnesty International has documented 125 separate examples of police violence against protesters in 40 states and the District of Columbia between 26 May and 5 June 2020, a period when hundreds of thousands of people in the USA and other countries protested against racism and police violence and insisted that Black lives matter.
The analysis shows that law enforcement officers violated human rights daily out on the streets instead of fulfilling their obligations to respect and facilitate the right of people to peacefully protest. This unlawful use of force included beatings, misuse of tear gas and pepper spray, and the inappropriate firing of less-lethal projectiles, such as sponge rounds and rubber bullets.
Those abuses were committed by a range of security forces from state and local police departments, federal agencies, and the National Guard. “The analysis is clear: when activists and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets in cities and towns across the US to peacefully demand an end to systemic racism and police violence, they were overwhelmingly met with a militarized response and more police violence,” said Brian Castner, Senior Crisis Advisor on Arms and Military Operations at Amnesty International.
To evaluate these incidents, Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab gathered almost 500 videos and photographs of protests from social media platforms. This digital content was then verified, geolocated, and analyzed by investigators with expertise in weapons, police tactics, and international and US laws governing the use of force. In some cases, researchers were also able to interview victims and confirm police conduct with local police departments.
The death of George Floyd, 46, a black man who died on 25 May after he was pinned down by a white Minnesota police officer, has sparked outrage and protests in Minneapolis, as well as in many other US cities and indeed around the world, highlighting old problems plaguing US society; problems such as human rights violation, police brutality and racism especially against African Americans.
Thousands have been injured in recent anti-racism protests in the United States.
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