Taxi and Uber rider targeted in suspected anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh, say witnesses

Witnesses to the alleged knife attacks on Muslims and others in Edinburgh on Friday have described seeing a taxi and an Uber bike courier being targeted in Leith. The attacks, suspected of being directed against Muslims and people of colour, began near a mosque in the west of Edinburgh, followed by incidents on Leith Walk in the east of the city. Late on Saturday night, police confirmed a 38-year-old white Scottish man had been charged in connection with a number of incidents, and that five men aged between 22 and 39 had been injured, four of whom were taken to hospital for treatment. Police Scotland said its counter-terrorism unit was involved in the investigation, which also included alleged threats, robbery and vandalism, but it had not yet declared it a terrorist incident. On Sunday afternoon, about 100 local people, including several MSPs, councillors and activists from the Living Rent tenants’ union and Scottish Green party, gathered on Leith Walk close to the location for a hastily arranged rally. An anti-racist rally was held on Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh on Saturday. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian Nat Gorodnitski, a climate campaigner who co-organised the demonstration, said it was intended to prove the attack was an aberration. …