Murder of George Floyd

Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted Thursday of violating George Floyd's civil rights, as a federal jury rejected their arguments that inexperience, improper training or the distraction of shouting bystanders excused them from failing to prevent Floyd's killing.

The jury hearing the case against three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights needs only to get instructions from the judge before starting deliberations Wednesday.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent a full day Tuesday in closing arguments that recapped a month of testimony and sought to sway the jury toward their view of the case.

Former policeman Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison on June 25 for the murder of African American George Floyd, the killing that sparked America's biggest demonstrations for racial justice in decades.

The video has sparked anger among Roma organisations and comparisons with the death of George Floyd in the US. Michal Miko, head of Romanonet - a network of Czech Roma NGOs - condemned the incident as "the height of brutality".

The teenager who pulled out her cellphone and began recording when she saw George Floyd being pinned to the ground by a Minneapolis police officer was given a special citation by the Pulitzer Prizes on June 11 for her video that helped to launch a global movement to protest racial injustice.