Thousands protest Floyd’s death in Helsinki

Thousands of people gathered in Helsinki on Wednesday evening to protest the death of George Floyd in police custody in the USA.

They staged an anti-racism demonstration at the Senate Square to ensure justice, freedom of expression, anti-racism and change, as elsewhere in the world, a leader of the participants said.

They paid tributes to the African American George Floyd who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA while being detained by the police in late May.

The event was held peacefully and the organisers explained the justification of holding the protest here in Finland, far away from America.

“Many people ask why we want to voice our opinion [here], when the events happened in the United States and not in Finland. But the fact that racism happens at all is the problem. We want to show that we stand in support of our brothers and sisters,” Sará Balhass Balhass, one of the organisers, told the national broadcaster Yle.

The protest that began at 5:00 PM outreached the restriction imposed by the government on any gathering of more than 500 people due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The participants, however, were urged to keep proper distance among one another and wear protective face masks and hand gloves.

Although the protest was scheduled to end at 9:00 PM, the police, quoting the organisers said it ended at 6:00 PM.