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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/15/council-officials-face-investigation-over-bijan-ebrahimi-case
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Council officials face investigation over Bijan Ebrahimi case | Council officials face investigation over Bijan Ebrahimi case |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| There has been disquiet that no Bristol council officials have been disciplined after refugee was murdered by vigilante | There has been disquiet that no Bristol council officials have been disciplined after refugee was murdered by vigilante |
| Steven Morris | Steven Morris |
| Mon 15 Jan 2018 17.49 GMT | Mon 15 Jan 2018 17.49 GMT |
| Last modified on Mon 15 Jan 2018 22.01 GMT | |
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| Council officials will face an investigation over failings in the case of an Iranian refugee who was murdered by a vigilante after years of abuse. | Council officials will face an investigation over failings in the case of an Iranian refugee who was murdered by a vigilante after years of abuse. |
| An independent review at the end of last year concluded that Bristol city council and the police were guilty of institutional racism in dealings with Bijan Ebrahimi. Four police and community officers were sacked and two were jailed but there has been disquiet that no individual council officials have been disciplined. | An independent review at the end of last year concluded that Bristol city council and the police were guilty of institutional racism in dealings with Bijan Ebrahimi. Four police and community officers were sacked and two were jailed but there has been disquiet that no individual council officials have been disciplined. |
| Councillors from all four political parties backed a call on Monday for Bristol’s directly elected major, Marvin Rees, to make sure there was a rigorous investigation into the behaviour of individual officials and that disciplinary action was taken where appropriate. | Councillors from all four political parties backed a call on Monday for Bristol’s directly elected major, Marvin Rees, to make sure there was a rigorous investigation into the behaviour of individual officials and that disciplinary action was taken where appropriate. |
| Ebrahimi, 44, was punched and kicked to death in 2013 by his neighbour Lee James, who had mistakenly thought he was a paedophile. James and another neighbour dragged Ebrahimi’s body to a green in front of his home in Brislington, south Bristol, doused him with white spirit and set fire to him. James was jailed for life. | Ebrahimi, 44, was punched and kicked to death in 2013 by his neighbour Lee James, who had mistakenly thought he was a paedophile. James and another neighbour dragged Ebrahimi’s body to a green in front of his home in Brislington, south Bristol, doused him with white spirit and set fire to him. James was jailed for life. |
| Leading the call for an investigation, Mark Brain, a Labour councillor, said responsibility for Ebrahimi’s murder lay with James but the review by the Safer Bristol Partnership (SBP) had exposed failings in the city council. | Leading the call for an investigation, Mark Brain, a Labour councillor, said responsibility for Ebrahimi’s murder lay with James but the review by the Safer Bristol Partnership (SBP) had exposed failings in the city council. |
| Brain said: “I’m not asking for a witch-hunt so we can all feel a bit better about ourselves. I’m asking for a proper investigation and for disciplinary action to be taken if necessary to restore confidence in our services.” | Brain said: “I’m not asking for a witch-hunt so we can all feel a bit better about ourselves. I’m asking for a proper investigation and for disciplinary action to be taken if necessary to restore confidence in our services.” |
| Carla Denyer, a Green councillor, said Ebrahimi’s death was appalling and avoidable. “That this could happen in our city, supposedly a city of sanctuary for refugees, reflects very poorly on us all,” she said. | Carla Denyer, a Green councillor, said Ebrahimi’s death was appalling and avoidable. “That this could happen in our city, supposedly a city of sanctuary for refugees, reflects very poorly on us all,” she said. |
| “The Ebrahimi tragedy was a combination of individual racism and institutional racism. It seems clear that whether motivated by intentional racism, by unconscious bias or straightforward incompetence there have been some very serious failings.” | “The Ebrahimi tragedy was a combination of individual racism and institutional racism. It seems clear that whether motivated by intentional racism, by unconscious bias or straightforward incompetence there have been some very serious failings.” |
| The SBP review concluded that Avon and Somerset police and Bristol city council wrongly perceived Bijan Ebrahimi as a troublemaker rather than a victim and sided with his white abusers. | The SBP review concluded that Avon and Somerset police and Bristol city council wrongly perceived Bijan Ebrahimi as a troublemaker rather than a victim and sided with his white abusers. |
| It accused both organisations of institutional racism – the most explicit such finding against a police force since the 1999 Macpherson report on the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in London, and the first of its kind against a local authority. | It accused both organisations of institutional racism – the most explicit such finding against a police force since the 1999 Macpherson report on the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in London, and the first of its kind against a local authority. |
| Rees has apologised to Ebrahimi’s family and said the council was determined to improve. | Rees has apologised to Ebrahimi’s family and said the council was determined to improve. |
| Bristol | Bristol |
| Local government | Local government |
| news | news |
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