Michael Brown’s parents to speak at UN

Daily Mail – by Sophie Jane Evans

The parents of Michael Brown are set to speak at a United Nations human rights conference in Switzerland next week – three months after their son was shot dead by a police officer.

Michael Brown Senior and Lesley McSpadden are scheduled to address the 53rd Session of the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva on November 12 and 13.

With the help of a Saint Louis University law professor, they have set up an online page, dubbed ‘Ferguson To Geneva’, on which they are collecting donations for their travel expenses.  

It comes nearly 14 weeks after the pair’s 18-year-old unarmed son, who is black, was gunned down by white officer, Darren Wilson, in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson.

The shooting on August 9 triggered a national debate on race relations and months of violent demonstrations, with many protesters claiming the teenager was shot because he was black.

Police have said Brown, who was 6ft 4ins and 300lbs, was killed in a scuffle after Wilson told the teenager and his friend to move out of the street and onto a sidewalk.

They claim the victim was trying to go for Wilson’s gun; however, witnesses, including the friend, told the press that Brown had his hands up and was surrendering when he was gunned down.

Brown Sr and McSpadden, who have campaigned since their son’s Missouri death, will leave for Geneva on November 10, the family’s attorney, Anthony Gray, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

On the ‘Ferguson To Geneva‘ page, a family spokesman wrote that Brown’s relatives were prepared to take their case before a ‘global community’.

They said: ‘In the absence of justice from the local, state, and federal government, the family of Michael Brown and Ferguson protesters are ready to take our case before the global community.

‘We have submitted a brief to the United Nations (UN), and we will formally present it on November 12th and 13th in Geneva, Switzerland.

‘The goal is not only to achieve justice in Ferguson, but to unite governments around the world against the human rights violations that result from racial profiling and police violence.’

The trip comes as a St. Louis County grand jury is considering the evidence from the shooting. They are expected to decide whether there is probably cause to indict Wilson for his actions this month.

The ‘Ferguson To Geneva’ campaign is being backed by the US Human Rights Network, attorney Daryl Parks, UN Shadow Report Authors Justin Hansford & Meena Jagannath and activists Kareem Jackson and Charles Wade.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2820947/Michael-Brown-s-parents-speak-three-months-unarmed-18-year-old-shot-dead-Ferguson-police-officer.html#ixzz3IDoIeMRU
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