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UK: Ibrahima Sey denied justice as police escape prosecution

01 September 1998

At the end of September the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced its decision not to prosecute police offices involved in the death of Gambian asylum seeker, Ibrahima Sey, who was killed at Ilford police station in east London (see Statewatch Vol. 6, no 3 & 4; Vol. 7, no 4 & 5, 6). The decision, described by Helen Shaw of Inquest, as "another example of the authorities behaving with impunity in the face of a death in custody", follows an inquest verdict of unlawful killing. Ibrahima died after being forced to the ground, handcuffed and sprayed with CS spray; it was the first death to involve the use of CS spray shortly after its introduction. The Newham Monitoring Project (NMP), who have supported Ibrahima's family in their struggle for justice, commented:

"Despite the unanimous verdict of the [Inquest] jury that police officers were involved in the unlawful killing of Mr Sey, the CPS has again turned a blind eye, refusing to prosecute any of the officers involved in his death, blatantly disregarding the findings of the inquest."

Ibrahima's widow, Amie, expressed her "disappointment" and "sadness" at the decision while a spokesman for the NMP added:

"It is remarkable that the CPS can so blatantly ignore the findings of the Inquest and the jury's unanimous verdict of unlawful killing. The culpability of the officers in Ibrahima's death was clear in the Inquest's findings and the use of CS spray found to be suspect. Yet still, no-one is brought to justice and CS spray is continued [in use] across the country, often indiscriminately. This can only lead to one conclusion - that Black people must continue to struggle to find justice against a system that places little value on their lives."

NMP press release 1.10.98; Inquest press release 1.10.98