Iran invites families of black men shot by US police
IRAN is trying to capitalise on turbulent race relations in the United States by inviting families of black men shot dead by police to a conference in Tehran on discrimination.
Relatives of at least one black American killed by police officers have agreed to attend the “Blacks of America” conference later this year.
Kawanza Jamal Beaty, 23, was shot dead in Newport News, Virginia, on July 4. His stepfather, Clyde Dargan, and mother, Melissa this week launched a $10 million (£6.6 million) claim against police.
They rejected suggestions that they could face a backlash for visiting Iran. Mr Dargan told The Daily Tele
graph: “I’m interested in coming to the conference. It’s just to bring awareness to the world about what’s going on in America. This is an epidemic and cops are not getting prosecuted.
“We’re more worried about the police killing us than Isil bombing us. It’s terrible when you’ve got to worry about your own country.”
He added: “I’m not worried about going to Iran. A black man in America is just like a foreigner. They’re killing us. We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave but we’re not worried about terrorists, we’re worried about the police.”
Beaty was shot after police responded to reports of a man carrying a gun in the early hours of the morning.
According to three officers he ran away but then turned and pointed the gun, so one of them opened fire, hitting him in the head.
The officer who fired the fatal shot had, in a previous incident in 2012, shot an unarmed man during a routine traffic stop and left him paralysed.
The three officers have been placed on leave while criminal and internal police investigations are carried out.
In April Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, accused American police of using “cruel might” against black citizens.
Speaking to Iranian police officers he said: “In the US black people are oppressed, disrespected and humiliated, and such behaviour has provided the ground for unrest.”
An organiser of the Iran conference said: “What we are doing is in parallel with diplomatic efforts of our government and in line with the orders of the supreme leader as part of our soft war against world powers.”