posted 31.08.07
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Following Jean’s killing on the 22nd July 2005 a series of legal processes began, most of which have not been completed. Two years on from the killing, the Menezes family is still no clearer to finding out what happened to Jean and no closer to getting someone held responsible for the shooting of an innocent man. These unnecessarily lengthy delays are a public scandal. They have exacerbated the family’s grief and undermined public confidence in the police force.

Two years on from Jean’s killing:

  • No police officer involved in his death has faced criminal or disciplinary proceedings
  • The inquest into his death remains adjourned
  • The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report into the police operation on the day of his death remains secret
  • The family and public still have no answers about the use of Operation Kratos and the police's shoot-to-kill policy

Public Inquiry Call
Given the scale of the misinformation, flawed policy and botched operational decisions that led to Jean’s death and the disastrous way the case has subsequently been handled by a variety of state agencies from the Metropolitan Police to the IPCC, the CPS and the Metropolitan Police Authority – we believe that an inquest could not adequately address all the pertinent issues into Jean’s death. As such, the Menezes family has been calling for a full public enquiry into Jean’s case so that the broader issues and implications of the shooting can be fully explored.

The campaign believes that any such public inquiry should be a full judicial inquiry ordered by the Home Secretary (with legal representation for the family) to bring all the facts surrounding the circumstances of Jean’s death are brought into the public domain. It should focus on the ‘Shoot-to-Kill’ policy, its guidelines, its application and the circumstances in which it was operated on 22nd July and include investigations into the handling by the Metropolitan police of the facts relevant to the case since Jean’s death and the lies that were circulated in public after the shooting. Public scrutiny is also needed about the failure of the IPCC and Metropolitan Police Authority to be able to hold the Metropolitan Police to account – yet again, after a death in custody the police have been allowed to get away with murder. In order to prevent future similar deaths it is imperative to get the answers about why Jean was killed, hold individuals criminally accountable for the killing and learn the lessons from this tragedy.

posted 22.07.07
Image of Jean Charles de Menezes projected onto the Houses of Parliament to mark the 2nd anniversary of his death

An image of Jean Charles de Menezes was projected onto the Houses of Parliament on Friday 20th July 2007. The image was accompanied by the phrase "TWO YEARS, NO JUSTICE".

A spokesperson for the Jean Charles de Menezes family campaign said:

"We want to remind the British public that two years
on from Jean's death we are no nearer to finding out the truth or
obtaining justice for his brutal killing.

We believe members of the Houses of Parliament have a duty to ensure that the Metropolitan Police Service is held publicly accountable. Two years on, no single police officer involved in the operation that resulted in Jean's tragic death has faced a criminal investigation; in fact some have even been promoted. There has still been no parliamentary examination of Operation Kratos or the shoot-to-kill policy. All this leads to the conclusion that MPS officers are operating with impunity. The family of Jean Charles call on Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to meet with them to explain the lack of any credible investigation into Jean's death. It is her responsibility to guarantee public faith in the judicial process."

Click here for a high resolution jpeg of the projection.

posted 18.07.07 *updated*
Two years on - Too long to wait for justice
Public Meeting
Monday 23rd July 2007

6.30pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1
nearest tube: Holborn

Innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on 22nd July
2005 at Stockwell tube
station as the result of a disastrous police anti-terror operation.

Two years after his shooting:

- No police officer involved in his death has faced criminal proceedings
- The inquest into his death remains adjourned
- The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report into the police operation on the day of his death remains secret
- The IPCC report into Sir Ian Blair also remains unpublished
- The family and public still have no answers about the use of Operation Kratos and the police's shoot-to-kill policy

Join the Menezes family on the second anniversary of his shooting to hear about their continuing struggle for justice.

Speakers:

  • Members of the Menezes family
  • Gareth Peirce (from Birnberg Peirce Solicitors - the firm representing the family)
  • John Pilger (Journalist & Filmmaker)
  • Jenny Jones (GLA member, Metropolitan Police Authority Member)
  • Asad Rehman (Justice4Jean Family Campaign)

Jean Charles Menezes Family Campaign
PO Box 273 • Forest Gate • London • E7
07765 707 632
justice4jean@gmail.com
www.justice4jean.com

posted 17.10.06
MENEZES FAMILY FIGHT CPS AND IPCC WITH LEGAL CHALLENGES

The Menezes family begin their fight back against the legal system today to challenge what they describe as 'the ultimate cover up''.
Lawyers acting for the family of Jean Charles de Menezes will today lodge a judicial review challenging the decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to prosecute any individual police officer but instead prosecute the Metropolitan Police Service under health and safety legislation.
They are also judicially challenging the CPS' successful attempt to adjourn the inquest in Jean's death and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for their failure to disclose their report into his killing.

HUMAN RIGHTS
The lawyers will argue that there is sufficient evidence to justify a charge for murder or manslaughter and that it is in breach of Article 2 of the Human Rights Act for the CPS to have chosen the health and safety charge. This is because such a charge is failing to bring about an effective, independent and prompt public investigation with involvement from Jean's family.

The legal team will argue that health and safety legislation was never intended to apply to policing decisions which resulted in an intentional loss of life. As no individual officer can be held responsible through such a prosecution there will be no individual accountability for those who ordered and carried out Jean's killing.
The lawyers will also argue that the failure to disclose the IPCC report to the family is a breach of their Article 2 rights. By not publishing their report, the IPCC are failing to fulfil their public duty as enshrined in their own statutory guidance to operate an 'open and transparent' system and make it impossible to ascertain on what basis the CPS' decisions were made.

Harriet Wistrich, lawyer for the Menezes family said
"In respect of the decision not to prosecute any individual officers we consider that the CPS has usurped the role of the jury in its assessment of the evidence.
In respect of the decision to seek adjournment of the inquest and to ask the IPCC not to disclose their report to the family, the CPS's uncompromising approach gives the appearance of a stitch up"

BURYING THE TRUTH
It is now fifteen months since the death of Jean, an innocent 27 year old man shot 7 times in the head by the Metropolitan Police. There has still been no public scrutiny of the events that led to his death. The Menezes family believe this to be as a result of continued attempts by the IPCC and the CPS to bury the truth.

Alex Perieira, cousin of Jean said
"The IPCC and CPS are acting like gang members trying to cover up the actions of their bosses, the police. It is clear they want to hide the truth from everybody. It is the ultimate cover up. This judicial review is about making sure that someone is held responsible for the cold blooded killing of Jean"

A spokesperson for the Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign said
"The IPCC and the CPS have shown a flagrant and deliberate disregard for any form of accountability to come from the killing of an innocent man. No officer has faced any disciplinary charges or so much as lost a single day's pay for Jean's killing in the 15 months since his death.
It is clear the judicial system is failing in this case. This adds to our arguments for a public inquiry into Jean's killing"

 

posted 05.09.06
MENEZES FAMILY TO CHALLENGE PROPOSED INQUEST ADJOURNMENT

The family of Jean Charles de Menezes are urging their supporters to join them on Thursday 7th September at 12 noon outside Southwark Coroners Court, 1 Tennis Street, London SE1 1YD as they challenge the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) application to adjourn the inquest into Jean’s death.

The CPS is arguing that the inquest should be delayed until after the close of the criminal trial against the Metropolitan Police over breaches of Health and Safety. If the inquest is adjourned, this delay could be for several years.

It is shameful that over a year has passed since Jean's death yet there has been no public scrutiny of the circumstances leading to Jean's death. This has exacerbated the suffering faced by the Menezes family.

7th September is Brazil Independence Day from the Portuguese. Whilst in Brazil people will be celebrating the birth of their country, the Menezes family in the UK will be fighting for their basic fundamental right – the right to a public investigation to find out how their loved one came to die at the hands of the police. We urge supporters to wear yellow, green and blue. The colours of the Brazilian flag.

The family's legal team will argue that it is it is crucial that there not be any further delays in the investigation process and that the inquest should now take precedence over other legal proceedings.
Being kept in the dark about the specific circumstances that led to Jean's death has made it impossible for the Menezes family to grieve and move on. Instead, it only serves to fuel suspicion that the authorities do not want the issues that arose out of Jean's death to come into the public domain.

Any further delays would make a mockery to the judicial system; we believe that justice delayed is justice denied.
We hope you can join us
The Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign

[For more detailed information, please see the corresponding press release in the Press Release section on this website]

posted 14.07.06
To mark the one year anniversary of Jean's killing the Menezes family will be visiting Stockwell station at 10am, the time he was killed, and welcome members of the public joining them in tribute to the death of an innocent man.

In the afternoon the Jean Charles de Menezes family campaign in conjunction with the justice for the Kalam family & justice for the Dogra family campaigns present:

FROM STOCKWELL TO FOREST GATE -
IS JUSTICE POSSIBLE IN THE WAR ON TERROR?
On 22nd July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes, a innocent young Brazilian man was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station. On 2nd June 2006 Mohammed AbdulKahar was shot in a near fatal attack by police. His family (the Kalams) and his neighbours (the Dhogras) were subject to brutal assaults during the mistaken 'anti-terror' raids in Forest Gate. To mark the one year anniversary of Jeans death - this unique platform of the three families together with leading civil liberty figures ask: is justice possible in the war on terror?

SATURDAY 22ND JULY 2006
2.3OPM - 5.00PM
FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, EUSTON ROAD, LONDON
(nearest tube Euston/Kings Cross)

SPEAKERS:

  • PARTICIA DA SILVA ARMANI & ALEX PEREIRA (Cousins of Jean Charles de Menezes)
  • MOHAMMED ABDULKAHAR & ABUL KOYAIR (Kalam Family - Forest Gate)
  • INAYAT DHOGRA (Dhogra Family - Forest Gate)
  • HAROLD PINTER (Nobel Laureate)
  • GARETH PEIRCE (leading civil liberties lawyer and lawyer for the families)
  • MIKE MANSFIELD QC (Bloody Sunday Inquiry)
  • BIANCA JAGGER (International human rights activist)
  • LORD STEYN (Chair of Justice) invited
  • Chair : ASAD REHMAN (Newham Monitoring Project

(NOTE: The meeting will start with a minutes silence in conjunction with the memorial service taking place in Gonzaga, Brazil at the marking the moment that Jean was killed)
For further info contact us.

posted 22.06.06
The Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign will be organising a series of events to commemorate the one year anniversary of his killing around the 22nd July 2006. Finalised details of the events will be on the website shortly. For further information contact justice4jean@hotmail.co.uk

posted 16.06.06
The inquest into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes re-convened today at Southwark Coroner’s Court. The family raised their concerns about the continuing delays with regards to the inquest proceedings and urged the coroner to put pressure on the CPS to come to a speedy conclusion to their decision about whether or not officers will be prosecuted. To see the campaign’s press release for this event please go here.