Fundraiser launched to ‘secure justice’ in case of Cardiff man who died after release from custody

A fundraiser has been launched to “serve justice” for the family of a 24-year-old Cardiff man who died hours after his release from custody by South Wales Police.

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan’s family say he was released with injuries he did not have when he was arrested.

His family have now set up a fundraiser to pay for legal fees which has raised over £14,000 so far.

“The family are devastated by the loss of their eldest son and will not allow Mohamud to become another statistic,” the petition by Manal Abdirahman and Ikram Hamud says.

“We are attempting to raise money for funeral arrangements and legal fees. A case has been opened however to ensure justice we are also looking into opening a private case of our own.”

His aunt Zainab Hassan said she saw him after his release “with lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises”.

“He didn’t have these wounds when he was arrested and when he came out of Cardiff Bay police station, he had them,” she told BBC news.

Arrest

South Wales Police said that they were investigating the matter and had Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is standard practice after a death in such circumstances.

“Police were called by the Welsh Ambulance Service to a multi-occupancy property on Newport Road, Roath, Cardiff, shortly after 10.30pm,” South Wales Police said.

“Mr Hassan had been in custody at Cardiff Bay Police Station the previous night following a disturbance at the same property. He was arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace and later released without charge which is normal procedure for this offence.

“Mr Hassan left custody at around 8.30am on Saturday morning. His death has been referred to the IOPC as death after police contact and we are arranging the deployment of a family liaison officer to Mr Hassan’s family.

“As part of our investigation, CCTV and Body Worn Video has already been, and will continue to be, examined. This will assist in establishing and understanding the events that took place. Early findings by the force indicate no misconduct issues and no excessive force.

“We are aware of the extensive reporting on social media but due to the ongoing investigation and referral to the IOPC we are unable to comment any further at this stage.

“A post-mortem examination is due to take place tomorrow and until a cause of death has been confirmed we would urge against speculation.”