The family of George Floyd, including his brothers, knelt on Monday in front of the court in Minneapolis (Minnesota, United States) where the oral arguments begin in the trial against the former white policeman Derek Chauvin, accused of murdering the black man.

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The family and their lawyers knelt in front of the court for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the time that Chauvin he pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck as the African American, lying on the ground and handcuffed, called out to his mother and repeated: “I can’t breathe!”

Symbolically, the family knelt in front of the court at exactly 8:46 a.m. local time (1:46 p.m. GMT).

George Floyd’s brother, Terrence, acknowledged that he has seen “many times” the images of his brother’s death, which were recorded on video by security cameras and passers-by mobiles, which caused much outrage last year from the US and protests across the country.

“I have seen the video many, many times. Do you know why? Because that way I can hear his voice again. (…) Everyone is attentive to this “Terrence stated.

“This is a historic moment, and everyone is watching,” he insisted.

Likewise, the lawyer for the Floyd family, Ben Crump, considered that the trial is a “referendum on how far this country has come for freedom and justice for all.”

Elements on the trial for the death of George Floyd. (SOPHIE RAMIS, GAL ROMA / AFP).

Floyd died on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin and other agents would like to arrest him on suspicion of trying to use a counterfeit $ 20 bill in a supermarket.

The now ex-police officer is accused of three charges that, from highest to lowest severity, are murder in the second degree, punishable by up to 40 years in prison; murder in the third degree, with a maximum sentence of 25 years, and murder in the second degree, which carries up to 10 years of deprivation of liberty.

This Monday the trial begins “de facto” with the presentation of the initial arguments by the defense and prosecution.

The aggression sparked the largest anti-racism protests in the United States since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in the late 1960s.

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