WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Minneapolis police broke international law in using chemical weapons against protests over the death of African-American Jamar Clark, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) activist Nabeehah Azeez told Sputnik.
"I feel that using chemical agents against citizens engaging in constitutionally protected activities is a display of excessive police force, is an international crime, and should never be tolerated," Azeez told Sputnik on Friday.
On Thursday, Minneapolis police said they used chemical irritants to disperse protests over Clark’s death over the weekend. Activists said the 24-year-old was shot in the head while lying handcuffed on the ground and not resisting. The police claimed he was not handcuffed and tried to disarm an officer.
In 1993, 165 countries including the United States signed the Chemical Weapons Convention prohibiting the production and use of chemical weapons and their precursors in any form.
