A 73-year-old man has been released from police custody following his detainment during a Pro-Palestine march in Bristo Square on 23 March.
The man was held in a police van on Lothian Road as protestors gathered around the van obstructing its exit.
Roughly a hundred protesters surrounded the van for over an hour, while chanting “shame on you” and “let him go”.
He was released from the van at 16:30, roughly an hour and a half after being detained.
Over 25 police officers cordoned off Lothian Road after an altercation occurred between police and protesters surrounding the van.
The protest was arranged by various Pro-Palestine organisations.
The man, a 73-year old grassroots activist from Muirhouse named Willie Black – has been involved in organising demonstrations for over 50 years.
According to his daughter Victoria Burns who attended the protest, Black had not spoken at the demonstration and was detained by police as the protest was coming to an end.
When asked if she and her father were going to keep protesting, Burns told The Student:
“Yes, 100%. My dad has been a campaigner for over 50 years.
“The intimidation is not going to work on us. My dad has been part of these demonstrations every week. Since back in October, there’s been no trouble at all.”
This comes after a student was detained on campus in October 2023 during a Pro-Palestine protest, as they smeared red paint on the entrance to McEwan Hall.
When asked if she was worried about her father in the police van, Burns stated to The Student:
“Yeah, he’s an elderly man. He shouldn’t be stuck in the back of a police van. They could have said for him to come to St. Leonard’s, but they bundled him into a van – 73 years old.”
Burns said this was the third time her father had been charged for involvement in Pro-Palestine protests in recent months.
After Black was released from the police van, he spoke to the gathered crowd, saying:
“This isn’t about Willie Black. This is about the people in Gaza. The campaign goes on.”
Image via Nicholas Malizia