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Blunkett ordered to call public inquiry into Mubarek murder

01 August 2003

The family and friends of Zahid Mubarek, who was beaten to death as he slept by his cellmate at Feltham Young Offenders Institution (YOI) in March 2000, won the right to a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death in October. The ruling, by Lord Bingham, sitting with Lords Slynn, Steyn, Hope and Hutton at the Court of Appeal, rejected the Home Office’s view that such an inquiry was unnecessary, arguing that the refusal was a breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the legal protection of the right to life). They said that the state had a duty to investigate such deaths. It is seen as a significant victory for the family who have fought to get answers as to why their son was made to share a cell with Robert Stewart, a racist who had publicly threatened to kill his "padmate". The decision to hold a new inquiry follows an internal Prison Office inquiry that made 26 recommendations for change at the YOI and Home Office instigated investigation by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). The Mubarek family argued that both of these inquires were inadequate and left many questions unanswered. They have been demanding an independent public inquiry into Zahid's murder for the past three tears.