Washington condemns Britain's handling of student murder

Washington on Thursday condemned Britain's handling of the murder of a white student by a Sikh man, a high-profile case that has sparked angry protests, calling it "symptoms of civilizational decline."

The case of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed by police as he lay mortally wounded after being stabbed in the port city of Southampton in December, has become highly politicized in the UK.

Attacker Vickrum Digwa lied and told police he was the victim as Nowak had racially insulted him.

Far-right activists have cited the case as an example of so-called "two-tier policing," in which officers allegedly deal with ethnic minorities more leniently.

The US State Department agreed with that assessment in a statement Thursday.

"Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline," the agency said on X. "They must be rejected across the West."

It added: "The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time."

Digwa, 23, was jailed for at least 21 years on Monday.