Around 300 people descended on the Supreme Court in Sydney to demand justice for Elijah Doughty, a 14 year-old Aboriginal boy, who was pursued and mown down by a white man driving a 4-wheel drive in Kalgoorlie last August. On Friday, a West Australian court acquitted the man from charges of manslaughter and sentenced him to 3 years on a lesser charge of dangerous driving occasioning death. The maximum sentence for this charge is 10 years.
The rally was orgainized by the Aboriginal advocacy group, Fighting In Solidarity Towards Treaties (FISTT). The protesters insist that this was a case of murder, another in a long line of Aboriginal deaths that have been failed by a prejudiced and racist system.
In a symbolic gesture, red ochre was daubed on the windows of the Supreme Court, representing the blood of Aboriginal people that has been spilt in the process of ongoing colonisation.
Speakers at the rally included Lynda Coe, Joe Williams, Aunty Jenny Munro, Shaun Harris and the mother of Ms Dhu, Geoffrey Johnson, Meyne Watt, Cameron Manning Brown, Elizabeth Jarrett, Raul Bassi, Paddy Gibson, David Chapman, Gwenda Stanley, and Albert Harnett.
Protests have been and continue to be held around Australia, with little or no mainstream news coverage.
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