A human rights lawyer representing the family of a black man who died in police custody has branded the Scottish criminal justice system “institutionally racist”.
Aamer Anwar told an inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh, 31, that he initially advised the dead man’s relatives to trust the Crown Office and Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) in their investigation and not mention race as a factor because they would be “attacked” for doing so.
Anwar said the institutions “failed to deliver truth, justice and accountability” during their investigations into Bayoh’s death after a confrontation with police in 2015.
Aamer Anwar with Skehu Bayoh’s sister Kosna, second left, and mother Aminata, outside Capital House, Edinburgh as the inquiry recommences
JANE BARLOW/PA
Anwar said: “Fundamentally, all of them failed to deliver justice. The criminal justice system in this country is institutionally racist.”
He said the impact of the case had been traumatic and that he had been subjected to “attacks” professionally and had a nervous breakdown. Anwar also told the inquiry that providing free legal advice to the family of Bayoh jeopardised his business.
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Bayoh, a father of two, died after he was restrained on the ground by police officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
The Sheku Bayoh inquiry has been investigating the circumstances of his death and whether race was a factor. His family were provided with pro bono legal assistance by Anwar for five years, before the inquiry was announced.
Anwar, 56, said he was warned by Imran Khan KC, who represented the family of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, “not to respond” to racism.
He also said he was warned by Michael Mansfield KC: “It’s fine for me, I’m white, I’m middle-class. I’m seen as a knight in shining armour who rides to the rescue of poor, vulnerable black people.
“But when you do it, Aamer, or Imran does it, you’re playing the race card, you must be prepared to be attacked.”
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Giving evidence, Anwar said he had received death threats and had to move house because of his work, experienced paranoia and had been put under police surveillance, which he branded “unlawful”.
Anwar also said that a post-mortem examination, which the family requested be postponed so relatives of the dead man could attend, was carried out regardless.
Anwar said: “We now know police officers were present who shouldn’t have been present but the family weren’t entitled to be present. It was not an investigation into death in custody, it was amateur hour for Pirc.”
Anwar said he was advised of the possibility of police surveillance by Khan and that he found out during the inquiry it had happened. “I was subject to targeted surveillance,” he said. “If this was a white lawyer doing the job I was doing would that be acceptable, or would there be uproar?
“Because it’s Aamer Anwar and the death of a black man, there isn’t any outrage.”