COURIER OPINION: Sheku Bayoh family deserve protection from online racist hate
ByThe Courier
Sheku Bayoh family members and their lawyer Aamer Anwar speak to supporters at a vigil outside Capital House in Edinburgh, ahead of the inquiry into his death in police custody. Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire.
The family of Sheku Bayoh have suffered incredibly since his death in 2015.
Their personal grief at his loss has been one thing.
But they have also had to endure years of speculation and scrutiny about the exact circumstances of his death in Kirkcaldy.
Sheku Bayoh with his sons Isaac and Tyler.
An ongoing inquiry into his death will hopefully provide definitive answers on that front.
Whatever conclusions it may draw, no one could doubt that Sheku Bayoh’s family have been through the mill.
It is sad, therefore, to hear that their pain is being compounded by torrents of online racist abuse.
Sheku Bayoh’s sister Adama Jalloh gathered with other members of his family outside Capital House in Edinburgh, ahead of the Sheku Bayoh inquiry. Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Given the toxic nature of much posted on social media, it is sadly not surprising such abuse has been forthcoming.
The time is long past for a more wholehearted crackdown on online abuse and the real hurt it causes.
Wherever it occurs it should be fully investigated by the authorities and those behind the hateful comments brought to book.
There are laws but the internet in great part remains lawless.
