A MAN HAS DIED AFTER BEING DETAINED BY OFFICERS IN CARDIFF AND SUSTAINING INJURIES WHILST UNDER THEIR GUARD, SAY LAWYERS FOR THE FAMILY
MOHAMUD MOHAMMED HASSAN, 24, WAS A YOUNG BLACK MAN LIVING IN THE CITY WHO REPORTEDLY TOLD FRIENDS AFTER HE WAS RELEASED THAT POLICE “BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ME”
THE BEREAVED FAMILY AND SUPPORTERS ARE FIGHTING FOR ANSWERS AND DEMANDING JUSTICE
A LEGAL CROWDFUNDER FOR THE CASE HAS SURGED IN SUPPORT, RAISING OVER £9,000 IN JUST 14 HOURS.
By Mark S Redfern @genericredfern.
A young black man has died hours after sustaining physical injuries whilst being in the custody of South Wales Police (SWP), say lawyers advocating for the family as anti racism campaigners demand immediate answers and justice.
In a blog post by Lee Jasper of Black and Asian Lawyers for Justice, Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, 24, pictured above, is detailed as being arrested on Newport Road, Roath by South Wales Police around 11pm on Friday 8th of January and taken to Cardiff police station by officers where he suffered serious injuries.
He was then released around 8.30am on Saturday 10th January, before telling a friend that “the police have beat the shit out of me.” An elderly lady who lives above Mohamud is reported as seeing bloodstains on his tracksuit and severe injuries to his mouth.
According to the report, the 24 year old’s Aunt insisted he go to hospital but he said he needed a rest before doing anything else.
Hassan could not be roused by friends who quickly called paramedics, after which a first-responder attempted CPR but could not revive Hassan and pronounced him dead at the scene.
In a statement, South Wales Police confirmed Mohamud Mohammed Hassan had been in custody at Cardiff Bay Police Station the night before his death, and said he was later released without charge.
They confirmed that the incident had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct but said that ‘early findings’ by the force itself indicated no “excessive” use of force.
But campaigners and activists have reacted with anger and demands for a full investigation into the arrest and detainment of Mohamud by South Wales Police, a force that has recently come under fire for failure to secure the crime scene or interview key witnesses following the death of 13-year-old Christopher Kapessa, the Black teen who drowned in a river surrounded by his white peers in summer 2019.
Lee Jasper, Vice-Chair for BAME Lawyers 4 Justice, said: “Clearly Mohamud was perfectly fine before his arrest. The critical question the family want answering is what happened to him during his arrest, in transit to and inside Cardiff Police station.”
Jasper continued: “He is very severely injured on his release, so was he offered medical assistance in the police station? His death marks a grim and tragically familiar start for 2021. Black Lives will continue to matter.”
Campaigners have said that the family have not yet been contacted by a SWP Family Liaison Officer to explain what happened to Hassan to cause him his injuries.
Hillary Brown from Virgo Consultancy, the lawyers acting for the family, also released a statement: “There are many questions that need to be answered, that can hopefully shed some light on the circumstances that saw a young, healthy black man arrested and after being released without charge in a distressed state, suffering numerous physical injuries we now need to establish if there is any connection that may have led to his death.”
Hillary Brown and Lee Jasper helped the family of the young Kapessa fight South Wales Police after officers failed to properly investigate the Black teen’s death in July 2019, prompting a review by the Crown Prosecution Service and a public campaign. Both sat by Christopher’s bereaved mother as she told a press conference in February 2020 that South Wales Police were guilty of institutional racism and they had failed her and “continued to fail black families.”
Writing on Twitter, Black Lives Matter Cardiff and the Vale, who helped organise one of the biggest anti-racism protests in Welsh history last year in Cardiff, called for an investigation to be “swift and transparent,” but added that they had “serious doubts” about whether or not this would happen.
A Go Fund Me page set up to pay for the legal fees of Mohamud’s family, and which puts forward further disturbing details around the circumstances of the arrest, has already raised over £9000 in a matter of hours at the time of writing. The average donation was around just £13, showing a huge appetite for solidarity and action.
POC4WELSHINDY, a grassroots group of people of colour who support Welsh Independence have been highlighting the issue online and said: “We stand in solidarity with Mohamud’s family. We will follow the lead of the family, their solicitor and the campaign every step of the way with all of the resources we have available to get justice.”
South Wales Police have been contacted for additional comment.
