'I can't breathe': clashes erupt after UK police handcuff dying student
Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Video of a dying student who was handcuffed by British police after being stabbed by a Sikh man and falsely accused of racially abusing his murderer sparked outrage on Tuesday, with protesters throwing bricks at police.
Issued on: 02/06/2026 - RFI
Demonstrators threw bricks at police in Southampton © JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP
Eighteen-year-old Henry Nowak was heard repeatedly telling officers: "I can't breathe" in police bodycam footage captured as he lay mortally wounded in December after a night out with his football team members.
Far-right figures have seized on the case, including firebrand Tommy Robinson, who spoke at a rally in the southern city of Southampton, where the murder took place, claiming police treat white British people as "second-rate citizens".
Protesters then marched through the city centre towards the scene of the crime, where police blocked the road. Demonstrators attacked officers with bricks, bottles and bins, AFP reporters saw.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood condemned the "disgraceful violence" against police and said on X that "those responsible can expect to face the full force of the law".
Eighteen-year-old Henry Nowak was heard repeatedly telling officers: "I can't breathe" in police bodycam footage captured as he lay mortally wounded in December after a night out with his football team members.
Far-right figures have seized on the case, including firebrand Tommy Robinson, who spoke at a rally in the southern city of Southampton, where the murder took place, claiming police treat white British people as "second-rate citizens".
Protesters then marched through the city centre towards the scene of the crime, where police blocked the road. Demonstrators attacked officers with bricks, bottles and bins, AFP reporters saw.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood condemned the "disgraceful violence" against police and said on X that "those responsible can expect to face the full force of the law".
Bodycam video released by Hampshire police showed Henry Nowak being handcuffed before his death © - / Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary/AFP
A judge on Monday jailed Vickrum Digwa, 23, for at least 21 years for stabbing Nowak to death using a ceremonial knife with a 21-centimetre (eight-inch) blade.
When police arrived at the scene, Digwa lied to officers, telling them Nowak had racially insulted him and that he was the victim.
The footage, which was played during Digwa's trial, shows police accepting the aggressor's accusation, and rather than helping Nowak, initially handcuffing him despite his pleas that he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
One officer can be heard asking Nowak: "You've been stabbed, whereabouts?" before adding: "Don't think you have, mate."
Moments later, the student collapsed and became unconscious.
A judge on Monday jailed Vickrum Digwa, 23, for at least 21 years for stabbing Nowak to death using a ceremonial knife with a 21-centimetre (eight-inch) blade.
When police arrived at the scene, Digwa lied to officers, telling them Nowak had racially insulted him and that he was the victim.
The footage, which was played during Digwa's trial, shows police accepting the aggressor's accusation, and rather than helping Nowak, initially handcuffing him despite his pleas that he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
One officer can be heard asking Nowak: "You've been stabbed, whereabouts?" before adding: "Don't think you have, mate."
Moments later, the student collapsed and became unconscious.
'Harrowing' bodycam footage
Speaking after Digwa was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court, Nowak's father, Mark, described the police treatment of his son as "shocking", "inhumane" and "degrading".
"His murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed," he said.
The family gave permission for police to release the bodycam footage. The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the bodycam footage was "harrowing" and called the investigation by the IOPC "absolutely right", acknowledging there are "serious questions for the police to answer".
Sikh Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed by a UK court for life for killing 18-year-old student Henry Nowak © - / Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary/AFP
Mahmood urged people not to allow the murder to "turn communities against one another", in comments to parliament.
Main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for changes to police diversity policies.
Farage said: "We're living in a two-tier culture... where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities."
Badenoch accused Farage of "deepening divisions", but also took aim at so-called "two-tier policing", in which officers are seen as dealing with ethnic minorities more leniently.
'Two-tier scum'
On Tuesday evening, more than a thousand protesters gathered outside the main police station in Southampton, chanting: "Two-tier scum" and "Shame on you!" and waving British Union Jack and England flags, AFP reporters saw.
Mahmood urged people not to allow the murder to "turn communities against one another", in comments to parliament.
Main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for changes to police diversity policies.
Farage said: "We're living in a two-tier culture... where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities."
Badenoch accused Farage of "deepening divisions", but also took aim at so-called "two-tier policing", in which officers are seen as dealing with ethnic minorities more leniently.
'Two-tier scum'
On Tuesday evening, more than a thousand protesters gathered outside the main police station in Southampton, chanting: "Two-tier scum" and "Shame on you!" and waving British Union Jack and England flags, AFP reporters saw.
Protests over the case erupted into clashes with police © JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP
Far-right figure Robinson told the crowd that "if Henry (Nowak) wasn't white, he wouldn't have been handcuffed" and that "as white people, we are treated as second-rate citizens by our own police force".
Protesters, some wearing masks, then marched to a residential area near where the crime took place and attacked a line of riot police, chanting "scum".
A group of around a hundred protesters pulled apart garden fences, threw bricks, flares and chairs, and rolled a flaming bin at police, who used a spray on demonstrators and whacked them with riot shields.
American tech tycoon Elon Musk posted on X an offer to fund a private prosecution against the police over its handling of the murder.
Digwa's family apologised to Nowak's family for the killing and for bringing the Sikh community into "disrepute".
© 2026 AFP
Far-right figure Robinson told the crowd that "if Henry (Nowak) wasn't white, he wouldn't have been handcuffed" and that "as white people, we are treated as second-rate citizens by our own police force".
Protesters, some wearing masks, then marched to a residential area near where the crime took place and attacked a line of riot police, chanting "scum".
A group of around a hundred protesters pulled apart garden fences, threw bricks, flares and chairs, and rolled a flaming bin at police, who used a spray on demonstrators and whacked them with riot shields.
American tech tycoon Elon Musk posted on X an offer to fund a private prosecution against the police over its handling of the murder.
Digwa's family apologised to Nowak's family for the killing and for bringing the Sikh community into "disrepute".
© 2026 AFP
Protests erupt in UK over murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak
Copyright PA via AP
By Nathan Rennolds
Copyright PA via AP
By Nathan Rennolds
Published on 03/06/2026 -
In a joint statement, a conglomerate of Sikh community groups condemned what it called a "moment of madness by an individual".
Protests have broken out in the UK over the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, with hundreds gathering in Southampton on Tuesday as anger spilled into violence.
Demonstrators chanted "Henry, Henry" as they hurled stones, bricks, and chairs and clashed with police officers.
It comes after the highly publicised trial of Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man who was found guilty of Nowak's murder last month.
Nowak was repeatedly stabbed by Digwa as he made his way home from a night out with friends in December. Digwa, who was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years on Monday, falsely told police who attended the scene that he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Officers initially handcuffed and arrested Nowak as he lay dying, with bodycam footage of the incident showing Nowak telling police that he'd been stabbed and that he "can't breathe".
The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as scrutiny over the arresting officers' actions builds.
Reform party leader Nigel Farage commended Nowak's family for their "extraordinarily dignified" response to his killing but called for others to respond with "pure cold rage".
"The biggest fear a police officer now has going about his or her duty on the street is the fear of being reported for having acted in a way that was racially biased," Farage said in a clip posted to social media.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticised Farage's comments, saying he was attempting to "create division" against the wishes of Nowak's family.
In a post on X, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wrote that Tuesday's violence was "completely unacceptable," adding that "there can be no justification for hijacking this tragedy to stir up violence and disorder".
Sikh community groups have condemned Nowak's killing as a "moment of madness by an individual for which there can be no excuses".
But they said the wider Sikh community had "unacceptably faced considerable abuse and hate during the trial as many do not understand the law, the significance of the Kirpan or the responsibility associated with wearing a Kirpan".
A Kirpan is a small blade Sikhs wear as part of their religious uniform. Prosecutors say Digwa carried a standard Kirpan as well as a large dagger.
"We understand in this case the weapon that may have been used was not the normal Kirpan worn by fully practicing Sikhs," the Sikh community's joint statement said. "This nuance is critically important and may not have been explained or understood by those asked to give evidence in this case".
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