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Criminologist David Wilson looks at Scotland鈥檚 complex history of race crime and asks if there really is no problem here.

Professor David Wilson, the UK鈥檚 leading criminologist, presents the second series of the crime talk show Crime Files. In this episode, he examines the troubled history of race crime in Scotland and meets some of the country鈥檚 key players in the fight for justice and equality.

David travels to Edinburgh to investigate the racist murder of Ahmed Abuukar Shekh in 1989. It was a crime that challenged Scotland鈥檚 view that racism didn鈥檛 exist here, and to this day, no-one has ever been convicted of Ahmed鈥檚 murder.

In the studio, David meets Mukami McCrum, a former member of protest group the Lothian Black Forum, who fought to have Ahmed鈥檚 murder recognised as racist. She describes to David the fear and distress that the murder brought to minority communities and the pain that the lack of a conviction still brings.

David鈥檚 next guest is Manjit Sangha, the sister of Surjit Singh Chhokar, who was brutally stabbed to death whilst on his way home from work in 1998. Dogged by failings and institutional racism from the very beginning, Manjit鈥檚 family fought for 18 years to finally see Surjit鈥檚 murderer put behind bars. Manjit tells David about that heartbreaking moment she found out about her brother鈥檚 death and the years of struggle to win justice.

David鈥檚 final guest on Crime Files is eminent human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar. One of Scotland鈥檚 most high-profile solicitors, Aamer has spent a career fighting for justice and giving a voice to those in need. Never afraid to speak his mind, Aamer tells David how his experience of racism as a child in Liverpool filled him with an anger that was further fueled by a racist assault by police in Glasgow. Since then, he鈥檚 used his 鈥榖ig mouth鈥� for good, but he tells David that Scotland still has a long way to go to prove that there鈥檚 no problem with racism.

28 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter David Wilson
Executive Producer Harry Bell

Broadcasts