29-year-old Mouayed Bashir was ‘restrained by police’ before dying, inquest hears

Mouayed Bashir, a 29-year old man, was restrained by police in his home before dying a short time later in hospital, an inquest has heard today.

According to the BBC, Newport Coroner’s Court heard that Gwent Police and an ambulance were called to the home of the Bashir family in Maesglas, Newport on 17 February. Mouayed was taken to hospital in Cwmbran where he was pronounced dead at 11:41. His body was identified by his father.

The inquest into Mouayed’s death is to be delayed until July 2022, due to a Covid backlog. It will be held in front of a jury.

The BBC reported that the Coroner’s officer Paul Richardson said: “Police restrained Mr Bashir and transported him to hospital by ambulance”. A post-mortem examination was carried out “but no precise cause of death has been given at this time”.

Senior coroner for Gwent, Caroline Saunders, said: “The circumstances of his death, in that he died in or shortly after being in police custody, and that his cause of death is currently unascertained, require me to investigate his death under the terms of an inquest.”

Explaining to the Bashir family, through an interpreter, why his inquest would not be held until next year, she said: “This court has been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and was initially closed for a period of time.

“We have got a significant backlog of inquests to be heard, in addition there are a significant number of cases that need to be heard with a jury. We have only just started hearing jury cases again.

“Mouayed’s inquest must be heard with a jury also, and therefore July next year is the first available date I can hear his inquest.”

The Bashir family, who are Sudanese by heritage, came to the UK as refugees when Mouayed and his brothers, who were all born in Pakistan, were still children. After a period living in London, they moved to South Wales, where the family still lives now.

There has been a large amount of support across England and Wales for the family since Mouayed died. The day after his death, more than 100 protestors gathered outside Newport’s central police station to demand answers. It came after Mohamud Mohammed Hassan died hours after being released from police custody in Cardiff less than a month before.

In February, Gwent Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is investigating the death. 

It wrote online at the time: “We are aware that Mr Bashir, who was not arrested, was initially handcuffed and leg restraints were applied at the property while an ambulance was awaited.”

An ongoing petition for the IOPC and Gwent Police to release the officers’ body camera footage to his family has reached 6,569 signatures out of its target 7,000, while the Justice for Mouayed Bashir CrowdJustice fundraiser has raised £6,497 so far to help the family pay for legal fees.

Comments Form

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

Support The Voice

The Voice Newspaper is committed to celebrating black excellence, campaigning for positive change and informing the black community on important issues. Your financial contributions are essential to protect the future of the publication as we strive to help raise the profile of the black communities across the UK. Any size donation is welcome and we thank you for your continued support.

Support Sign-up