Families Call to Action: The Hassan family ask that you support the one year anniversary Twitter & Insta storm today and demand that the Attorney General Suella Bravemen and Home Secretary Priti Patel instruct the IOPC to #ReleaseTheBodyCam and fully suspend the six South Wales Police under investigation.
Use hashtags #Justice4MohamudHassan #ReleaseTheBodyCam #BlackLivesMatter #SuspendTheOfficers please tag Braveman and Patel if possible.
Zyanab Hassan Mohamud's Aunt.
Mohamud was released without charge. He died in his own bed later that day. A post-mortem later failed to establish a cause.
The family have also issued a call to action calling the public to support a planned Twitter & Instagram storm for justice scheduled between 5 pm and 7 pm January 9th, 2022.
The Mohamud Hassan family statement reads.
"One year on from the untimely and suspicious death of our beloved family member Mohamud Hassan we remain a family in shock at the treatment from we received Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) throughout the last year.
We call on Attorney General Suella Braverman and Home Secretary Priti Patel to intervene and demand that the IOPC release all police bodycam and CCTV footage to the Hassan family immediately. Further, we call on South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, whose silence on Mohamud's death has been deafening, to support our demand that all sic police officers be suspended from duty immediately.
Initially, South Wales Police and the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) both issued press statements in the wake of Mohammud's death. They all reported that Mohammud told everyone the day he died that Cardiff police officers had beaten him up. The implicit suggestion indicated that there was no case to answer despite the expressed concerns of the friends, family, and witnesses.
As a family, all we've ever wanted is honesty and answers. We have had none of that. The Police and the IOPC have conspired to cover up, obscure, frustrate, delay and dispute our search for the truth.
We have repeatedly requested that the IOPC provide the family and our legal team access to the video showing the final hours of Mohamud's life. Despite our repeated requests for access to film recording of the last hours of Mohamud's life, the family have been consistently denied access by the IOPC.
We believe that all families of those that die in suspicious circumstances in police custody should have an automatic right enshrined in law to get immediate access to police bodycam footage showing exactly what happened during their final moments on this earth.
Police body cam videos were introduced to help improve public trust and confidence and enhance police accountability.
That hasn't happened, and public trust and confidence in South Wales Police have deteriorated.
Part of the reason for this is that most families who suffer a death in custody are routinely denied access to this footage because the IOPC wishes to dampen down public outrage whilst the police, we believe, use these body cam videos to construct a plausible legal defence.
Had the footage of Mohamud's last moments been released to us, then we would have been spared the slow torturous agony of consistently speculating day by day on precisely what happened to him that awful night.
In stark contrast, we see in the US, after a death in police custody, police bodycam videos being released on demand to families in the immediate aftermath of such incidents.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the tremendous support we’ve received as a family from the public. Your continued support has been of enormous help to us in enduring the last year.
Please continue to support and take part in our all-day Twitter and Instagram storm for justice on January 9th, 2022, with a power surge between 5 pm – 7pm.
We’re also requesting people post pictures or videos tagging both the Attorney General and the Home secretary with the hashtags #ReleaseTheBodyCam #Justice4MohamudHassan
Shavanah Taj, General Secretary of Wales TUC and a supporter of the campaign, said.
"The Wales TUC remains resolute in our commitment and support for Mohamud Hassan's family and the wider community, who are seeking an honest and transparent explanation of his death. Given historical allegations of institutional racism levelled at South Wales Police and other recent cases of police brutality, we need to ensure that the investigation is subjected to independent legal scrutiny, supported by independent expert witnesses.
We have a duty to stand up to racism and systemic structural inequality and call out racism wherever we see it. It is important that the trade union movement in Wales continue to support our members both inside and outside of the workplace, and how we respond to tackling widespread inequality must remain a priority."
Hilary Brown, CEO VC services the Hassan legal representative, said,
"The length of time it has taken for the IOPC to conclude their investigation is totally unacceptable. The family made requests early in the investigation to disclose the police bodycam and CCTV of MH that both the IOPC and South Wales Police have access to – which has still not been disclosed to the family. This failure has significantly contributed to the ongoing trauma suffered by the family. This denial constitutes a cruel and unusual punishment for a family seeking nothing more than the truth as to what happened to their beloved Mohammud."
Zita Holbourne, National Chair &Co-founder of Black Activist's Rising Against Cuts (BARAC UK), said
"It's a national scandal that a year on the Hassan family have no idea how Mohamud died, and yet both the IOPC and South Wales Police have had unrestricted access to this footage. It's utterly unacceptable, and the Attorney General should instruct the IOPC to release the police bodycam footage immediately."
Lee Jasper Campaign spokesperson said.
"It's time to end the scandal that sees families suffering the pain and grief of losing a loved one whilst in police custody and simultaneously trying to search for the truth. The release of this footage should be a matter of human rights, and families should be given unrestricted access to police bodycam footage. We call on the public to support this critical demand.
So do ask that you write and demand that Attorney General Suella Braverman and the Home Secretary Priti Patel, two women of colour, by the way, instruct the IOPC to release all police bodycam and CCTV footage to the Hassan family immediately.
The family also repeat the call on South Wales Police Crime Commissioner Alun Michael to suspend the six officers under investigation from duty. In no other profession can you be under investigation for suspicion of causing death and remain at work.
We suspect the real reason that both South Wales Police and the IOPC refuse to release this footage is as evident as it is outrageous. It allows both to manage the public and media backlash and provides an opportunity for the officers involved to construct their legal defence."
A preliminary pre inquest hearing was held 3rd March 2021. The full Inquest hearing is scheduled for 27th May 2021 at Pontypridd Coroners Court and will accessible online.
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