The Unshackled covered the Walk with Jalal on Sunday 15th April 2018 as part of the Justice for Jalal campaign. 13-year-old Jalal Yassine-Naja was hit and killed by Ayou Deng a Sudanese mother of seven while he skateboarded to school in Brookfield, Melbourne in March 2017. Deng was only charged with unlicensed driving and sentenced to 80 hours community service last month. Jalal’s mother Olivia Yassine is campaigning for the police investigation to be reopened and for Jalal’s Law to be legislated so the legal loophole Deng used cannot be used again. There is a petition for Jalal’s Law as well as a legal fighting fund.
After the walk and speeches had concluded we spoke with Olivia about her campaign, the support she receiving and how she plans to continue her fight for justice. She plans to confront Ayou Deng again when she fronts court again in June after being charged with another criminal offence. I struggled to maintain my composure after being so moved by her speech so I can only imagine how much strength this campaign takes from Olivia.