About 100 local people gathered on Leith Walk on Sunday for a rally intended to prove that a series of suspected anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh were an aberration. The demonstration came after a 38-year-old white Scottish man was charged in connection with the attacks on Friday night, which left five men injured.
Attacks Target Taxi and Uber Rider
Witnesses described seeing a taxi and an Uber bike courier being targeted in Leith during the spate of attacks, which are suspected of being directed against Muslims and people of colour. The incidents began near a mosque in the west of Edinburgh and continued on Leith Walk in the east of the city.
Police Scotland confirmed that a 38-year-old man had been charged in connection with a number of incidents, including alleged threats, robbery, and vandalism. Five men aged between 22 and 39 were injured, with four taken to hospital. The police counter-terrorism unit is involved in the investigation, but the incident has not yet been declared a terrorist attack.
Community Rally for Solidarity
On Sunday afternoon, about 100 people, including several MSPs, councillors, and activists from the Living Rent tenants’ union and Scottish Green party, gathered on Leith Walk for a hastily arranged rally. Nat Gorodnitski, a climate campaigner who co-organised the demonstration, said: “My hope is whoever is living in the area, who’s afraid to leave their homes or feels unsafe, this will say ‘you’re safe, you belong here’.”
Hasan Eren, owner of Best Kebab House on Leith Walk, recalled seeing the assailant allegedly attacking a minicab, kicking it before throwing a metal object and smashing a window, terrifying a passenger. The attacker then allegedly assaulted an Uber cycle courier with a bladed weapon, hitting him several times. Eren said he and other witnesses shouted at the alleged assailant to stop. “I love Leith, man,” he said. “I have come across lots of fights, but nothing like that.”
Arrest and Community Reaction
The alleged assailant was detained by police carrying Tasers; Eren said the suspect threw the blade away, dropped to the ground, and put his hands behind his head before lying on the road, not resisting arrest. Footage on social media appeared to record him shouting he was “protecting the country”.
Another local man, Kenny, 53, who declined to give his full name, said: “Everyone is a bit befuddled by it. It’s a very nicely integrated community.” Ava, 22, a woman of colour who works nearby, said: “As a woman of colour, it’s scary seeing the way hatred has been whipped up.”
Ben Macpherson, the SNP MSP for Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith, said: “What happened on Friday was really shocking … but Leith is a place of pluralism … we’re not going to let this situation disrupt that.” Kate Nevens, a Scottish Greens MSP, added: “I love this neighbourhood … this is a horrible thing to have happened anywhere, but it does really feel like it’s hitting at the heart of Edinburgh.”
