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• The justice campaign has urged supporters to meet at Newport train station, this Saturday 12th February at noon, and march through the streets of Newport in remembrance.
• Mouayed Bashir died after he was restrained in his home by Gwent Police officers,, who have failed to give the family answers to crucial questions over the tragic incident.
• The death was one of a spate of scandals for Welsh police, including the deaths of Mohamud Hassan, Leighton Jones, and the failure to properly investigate the death of 13yo Chistopher Kapessa.

The family campaign fighting for justice in the case of a young black man who died after contact with Gwent Police has called a protest in Newport on the first anniversary of his shocking death. 

Supporters of the family of Mouayed Bashir will gather at Newport train station on Saturday 12th February at noon, for an anniversary march to pressure the force to provide answers to the family.

Mouayed Bashir, 29, died after being restrained by cops at the home he shared with his parents in Pillgwenlly, Newport. One year later and his family are still seeking justice. 

The report from the Independent Office of Police Conduct is still in progress a year after Mouayed’s death.

Mohanned Bashir, Mouayed’s brother who is fronting the justice campaign told voice.wales that the demonstration is to be centred around remembrance of his brother.

Mohanned said: “It’s important to remember Mouayed and what the Gwent Police have done. This is not a protest, this is a remembrance.”

Many of the details surrounding Mouayed’s death are still a mystery to those who were closest to him.

Questions persist around the amount of police in attendance during the incident, the time taken for Mouayed to be sent to hospital after he became unresponsive, and the use of police tasers during the fatal confrontation.

Mouayed had been recovering from a recent stab-wound at the time when he was restrained by cops. The IOPC have confirmed that handcuffs and leg restraints were used during his detainment, though he was not arrested at any point.

The Bashir family are still forced to live in the same house where their family member was accosted by cops, fighting an ongoing battle with Newport City Council to be rehomed. Mohanned spoke to voice.wales in October about his family’s battle to move to avoid the anguish and constant reminders of the fateful morning.

This incident was one of a spate of incidents involving Welsh police last year, and came just over a month after the death of Mohamud Hassan, who told witnesses he had been assaulted by South Wales Police officers. The mother of 13-year-old Christopher Kapessa has also said that South Wales Police are guilty of institutional racism over their handling of her son’s death in 2019. Video footage also emerged last year appearing to show a cop from Gwent Police beating a young black man, who later told the BBC that the officer in question was kneeling on his neck and restricting his breathing. 

The death of Leighton Jones after contact with Cardiff cops last year also highlighted issues surrounding how the police respond to someone suffering a mental health crisis in the community.

Mouayed is the son of Mamoun Bashir, who fled Sudan and endured a stressful asylum claim to escape the conflict in his home country and seek a better life, moving to Gwent in 2005. Mamoun started working for the Cardiff-based charity Displaced People in Action shortly after arriving in Wales, dedicating his time to helping asylum seekers feel at home in Wales. 

Earlier this year, Mohanned and the heavy metal band he is in, Torchbearer, recorded a single in memory of Mouayed and to highlight the circumstances of his death. 

Mohanned told voice.wales. “Some people in Newport still don’t know what happened which is shocking. The more people the better. Because the power of the people is greater than the people in power.”