Yahoo Finance Osman Amir: Family of British medical student, 18, gunned down at a protest in Sudan plead with Foreign Office for justice
The family of a British national shot dead by soldiers in Sudan at a protest have called on Dominic Raab to help his family get justice.
Osman Amir, 18, who hoped to work as a doctor for the NHS, was among two people shot dead at a protest in the capital Khartoum on May 11 to commemorate the second anniversary of the African nation’s uprising in 2019.
His family said he was “mercilessly butchered” as he drove away from the protests to go to basketball practice and soldiers opened fire into the crowds.
A petition to the UK Government to get justice for his death, signed by more than 48,000 people, says that as he got out of the car to run away, he was hit with multiple bullets in the back - one fatally piercing his heart.
His brother Mohamed Yousif Amir told the Standard: “I will never forget the scream she let out that night. She is utterly devastated and heartbroken - only justice will cool down the sorrow and rage.
“It is tragic that a young man with so much hope was mercilessly butchered like that. “We are British citizens and as a family would like the British Government to condemn this killing of an innocent boy and pressure the Sudanese Government.”
Osman was born in Sudan but grew up in Essex and went to grammar school before moving back to Sudan in 2015 to be with family and study to become a doctor.
He was two years away from graduating a medicine course at the National University in Khartoum when he was killed.
Paying tribute to his little brother, he added: “Osman was a prolific, courteous, humble, kind and passionate boy.He enjoyed watching football and loved Arsenal. “He couldn’t wait to return to the UK in order to work for the NHS and to help the sick. “Osman looked up to my father in particular and dreamt of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon just like him.”
A protest demanding justice will take place outside the Embassy of Sudan in St James’s on Saturday.
In a statement released after the killings, Sudan’s military said two people died in what it called “unfortunate events” and arrests had taken place.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok described the use of gunfire against peaceful protesters as a crime demanding immediate justice.
However Mr Amir’s family are concerned that justice will not be served and want the UK government to intervene.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We welcome Prime Minister Hamdok’s condemnation of the tragic events that led to the killing, and the arrests of those alleged to be involved. Justice must be delivered through fair trials. Our Embassy in Khartoum is in regular contact with both Osman’s family and the Sudanese authorities.”
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