Manchester students hold candlelit vigil for Mike Brown

Students stand in solidarity with American protesters

Students from the University of Manchester have led in a candlelit vigil in memory of Mike Brown, the American teenager shot dead by a police officer in August, following a court ruling on Monday that the officer who shot him in Ferguson, Missouri would not be charged.

Protests over the verdict have been held in London and Manchester in the past few days – as well as all across the States. This case is not the first of its kind and the sense that it may not be the last has caused international anger.

The vigil consisted of a four-and-half-minute silence symbolizing the four and half hours Brown was left on the ground after being shot. An array of speakers, including Mark Duggan’s aunt, Carol Duggan, spoke to the students about the incident - and also of her nephew Mark Duggan‘s killing in London in August 2011, which was deemed lawful by the Coroner’s Court.

Janet Alder, the sister of Christopher Alder, an ex-paratrooper who died in police custody, also spoke to the students about her family’s and brother’s experience.

Lydia Paver, a Manchester student reading American studies, said: “I feel it's important for us in the UK to show solidarity for several reasons. The negligence of the Ferguson authorities is astounding, not to mention the horrific treatment of protesters - even those from world peace group Amnesty International.”

"Michael Brown's parents have taken the issue of police violence to the United Nations in Geneva, so it is more than deserving of our attention and solidarity. Injustice anywhere poses a threat to justice everywhere. People all around the world have shown solidarity way before we did, from Brazilian metal plant workers to Chinese students. It's imperative that we join these cries for justice to both raise awareness in the UK, and to show the international community where our alliances lay.”

Manchester is not the only UK university to commemorated Mike Brown; Warwick and Birmingham also took part, while marches and vigils are continuing all over American Universities too.