Deportation deaths: Jimmy Mubenga family still wait for justice

A year is a long time to wait for justice but that is exactly what the family of an Anoglan man have endured as they hope for answers behind his death.

It was on October 12 2010 that Jimmy Mubenga dies after he was allegedly restrained by three G4s security guards during an attempt to deport him to Angola from Heathrow airport.

Witnesses claimed that Mubenga repeatedly complained of not being able to breathe shortly before he collapsed. The three guards in question were arrested on suspicion of murder and have been bailed by police until December.

The police are yet to have completed their investigation and the Crown Prosecution Service has not made a decision whether to bring charges against the three guards.

G4S, who no longer act as deportation escorts, has often come under scrutiny with allegations of excessive restraint and force levelled at them and UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff during deportations.

Mubenga’s family and supporters fighting for justice will hold a candle lit vigil outside the CPS in London this afternoon between 12-1.30pm.

Emma Ginn from Medical Justice, an organisation which looks into the inadequate healthcare provision to immigration detainees said the UKBA could have prevented Mubenga's death had they paid attention to a report in 2008 which detailed nearly 300 allegations of assault during deportation.

Injuries included a punctured lung, a dislocated knee and a broken finger, 42 deportees complaining of having their breathing restricted and some suffering neck injuries from having their head pushed forward between their knees.

Ginn said,

"We warned that abuses we had seen would happen again. They did. In October 2010, Mubenga died in front of British Airways crew and passengers after being restrained by G4S guards contracted by the British government during an attempt to deport him to Angola. Witnesses say that Mubenga complained repeatedly that he could not breathe. Police are still investigating the case and considering whether to charge the three guards involved in relation to Mubenga's death. The guards were recently bailed until December."

She added,

"We repeat our warning yet again. All deaths in immigration detention are avoidable as detention is optional. No one held in immigration detention is accused of a crime – their imprisonment is not part of any criminal sentence and there is scant judicial oversight."

Picture: Jimmy Mubenga