The sister of a man who died while being arrested has appealed for support at a vigil on the day an inquiry into his death is set to begin.
Sheku Bayoh, 31, died in May 2015 while in police custody in Kirkaldy, Fife, with a post-mortem finding multiple injuries.
In a message released ahead of the start of the inquiry on May 10, Kadi Johnson said her brother has been "criminalised, stereotyped and smeared".
A peaceful vigil is set to take place at 9am in Festival Square, Edinburgh on the same day as the first public hearing.
Speaking seven years after her brother's death, Ms Johnson said: "Four officers confronted Sheku as he walked open-handed and unarmed down the road.
"Why did they not de-escalate the situation? When they put my brother's body in the ambulance he was still shackled like a slave.
READ MORE: 'Insult': Judge moves to protect officers from self-incrimination over death in Police Scotland custody
Sheku Bayoh’s sister Kadi Johnson
She added: "We the family need your practical support to continue to raise awareness and we hope you will attend the first of many peaceful vigils."
The family has campaigned for answers regarding the incident since Bayoh's death on May 3, 2015.
In an investigation in 2018, Scotland's Lord Advocate ruled at the time that none of the officers involved should be prosecuted.
The inquiry will seek to establish the circumstances of Mr Bayoh's death and the investigations following it.
It will also evaluate the impact of race during the hearings amid claims from the family that it played a part in his death.
Glasgow-based lawyer Aamer Anwar, who has represented the family, praised their "stubbornness" and refusal to be " patronised, bullied, lied to or silenced".
Speaking in the same video message, he said: "I never knew Sheku Bayoh. He wasn't a rich man or a powerful man with lots of connections.
"But he had a stubborn family - all of whom have refused to be patronised, bullied, lied to or silenced.
"Six police vehicles at Kirkcaldy Police Office responded to an alert following calls from members of the public.
"We know that within 42 seconds of the first police officers being on the scene that Sheku was face down on the ground. He lost consciousness and he died.
"Sheku's body was covered with multiple separate injuries: bruises, cuts, lacerations and a broken rib."
Ahead of the start of the probe on May 10, he added: "The dead cannot cry out for justice, but it is the duty of the living to do so for them."
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