Ali Khamenei condemns US police brutality, says #BlackLivesMatter

Iran’s supreme leader used religion to help making his standing clear on Twitter

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has compared conflict in Gaza to the recent police shootings of young black men by police officers in Ferguson.

Iran’s supreme leader used religion to help make his standing clear on Twitter.

He suggested that were Jesus alive today, he would have supported the black community “to fight the arrogants”.

Khamenei has discussed this subject before, following the death of Michael Brown, the young black man who was shot and killed by a white police officer on 9 August in St Louis, Missouri.

“Today like previous years, African-Americans are still under pressure, oppressed and subjected to discrimination. #Ferguson”

In July, Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, was arrested by New York City police in Staten Island for selling loose cigarettes, and died after being placed in an illegal chokehold by white police officer Daniel Pantaleo.

CCTV footage captured the scene and showed Mr Garner repeatedly cry out: “I can’t breathe.”

A grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo, which further fuelled the Millions March protests across the US against police violence.

The death of another black teenager, Antonio Martin, caused by police gunfire in Missouri last week, sparked fresh protests following months of unrest about alleged police racism.