海角大神

An Australian court sided with police in ruling on Friday that a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney poses too much risk for spreading the coronavirus and cannot be held.

Thousands of people were expected to rally in Australia鈥檚 largest city on Saturday afternoon to honor George Floyd and to protest against the deaths of indigenous Australians in custody.

But New South Wales state Supreme Court Justice Des Fagan ruled the rally was not an authorized public assembly. Mr. Fagan said he understood the rally was designed to coincide with similar events in other countries.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 diminish the importance of the issues and no one would deny them in normal circumstances,鈥� he said. 鈥淣o one denies them that but we鈥檙e talking about a situation of a health crisis.鈥�

In Sydney, outdoor gatherings are restricted to 10 people, while up to 50 people can go to funerals, places of worship, restaurants, pubs, and cafes.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said organizers initially proposed a protest, but protesters could not guarantee social distancing protocols would be followed.

鈥淎ll of us have given up so much and worked so hard to make sure we get on top of the virus,鈥� Ms. Berejiklian told reporters.

Earlier Friday, demonstrators in the capital reminded the country that racial inequality is not an American issue alone.

Organizers of the Canberra rally that attracted about 2,000 demonstrators handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters kept a recommended social distance but drew closer to hear speeches. Public gatherings are limited to 20 in Canberra, but police did not intervene.

School teacher Wendy Brookman, a member of the Butchulla indigenous people, said Australia should not accept that more than 430 indigenous Australians have died in police custody or prison in the past three decades.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not here to jump on the bandwagon of what鈥檚 happened in the United States,鈥� Ms. Brookman said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here to voice what鈥檚 happening to our indigenous people.鈥�

One of the protesters鈥� signs read 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe" and drew a parallel between Mr. Floyd鈥檚 death in the United States on May 25 and the Australian indigenous experience. Those words were among the last spoken by Mr. Floyd and also an indigenous Australian, David Dungay, who died in a prison hospital in 2015 while being restrained by five guards.

In South Korea, dozens gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy to condemn what they described as police brutality toward protesters in the U.S. They called for South Korea鈥檚 government to speak against the 鈥渞acial discrimination and state violence鈥� of its ally and pushed for an anti-discrimination law to improve the lives of migrant workers, undocumented foreigners, and other minorities.

鈥淎s the U.S. civil society empowered and stood in solidarity with Korean pro-democracy activists in the past, we will now stand in solidarity with citizens in the United States,鈥� said activist Lee Sang-hyun, referring to South Koreans鈥� bloody struggles against military dictatorships that ruled the country until the late 1980s.

Holding a banner that read 鈥淛ustice for Floyd,鈥� most of the protesters wore black and some brought flowers in honor of Mr. Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his neck with a knee for several minutes while he pleaded for air.

Larger marches are planned in Seoul on Saturday to protest Mr. Floyd鈥檚 death.

Police have banned a planned protest against police violence in Paris on Saturday because of health measures restricting gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

A protest decrying systemic racism and calling for justice for Mr. Floyd and other victims of police brutality was planned to take place outside the U.S. Embassy.

But on Friday, Police Prefect Didier Lallement said such protests 鈥渁re not authorized鈥� because virus safety measures 鈥減rohibit any gathering, in the public space, of more than 10 people.鈥� He issued an order banning the Floyd demonstration and another protest planned for the same day.

Mr. Lallement said 鈥渋n addition to the disturbances to public order that these rallies can generate ... the health risks they could cause remain significant.鈥�

Meanwhile, the Islamic State group says protests across the United States and the repercussions of the coronavirus on Western countries will weaken these nations and divert their attention from Muslim countries.

The comments published Friday in an editorial in the extremist group's online weekly newspaper Al-Nabaa were its first on protests in America after last week鈥檚 death of Mr. Floyd while a policeman put a knee to his neck.

Al-Nabaa said protests have been occurring in the U.S. since it was founded, but this year 鈥渃oincide with the negative effects of the pandemic on the country鈥檚 economy.鈥� Al-Nabaa said the pandemic will weaken 鈥渋nfidel states.鈥�

In recent weeks, the militants have taken advantage of the pandemic to launch deadly attacks in their former self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.

South Africa鈥檚 ruling party says it is launching a 鈥淏lack Friday鈥� campaign in response to the 鈥渉einous murder鈥� of Mr. Floyd and 鈥渋nstitutionalized racism鈥� in the U.S., at home, in China, and 鈥渨herever it rears its ugly head.鈥�

A statement by the African National Congress says President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday evening will address the launch of the campaign that calls on people to wear black on Fridays in solidarity.

The campaign is also meant to highlight 鈥渄eaths by citizens at the hands of security forces鈥� in South Africa, which remains one of the world鈥檚 most unequal countries a quarter-century after the end of the racist system of apartheid.

鈥淭he demon of racism remains a blight on the soul of our nation,鈥� the ANC statement says.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

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