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De Menezes family loses case
14/12/2006 22:46 - (SA)
London - The family of a Brazilian
electrician, killed by British police who thought he was a
suicide bomber, lost a High Court bid on Thursday to hold the
individual officers accountable.
Jean Charles De Menezes, 27, was shot in the head seven
times after he was mistaken for a possible bomber at Stockwell
underground station in the highly charged aftermath of last
year's fatal attacks on London's transport system.
The crown prosecution service (CPS) decided in July no
officer involved in the bungled operation should face charges.
Instead, London's metropolitan police as a whole is to be
prosecuted next October on health and safety charges.
The family's lawyers argued at the High Court the failure to
prosecute police for murder amounted to a breach of article 2 of
the European Convention on Human Rights covering the right to
life.
In dismissing the challenge, Lord Justice Steven Richards
said the decision by the director of public prosecutions not to
prosecute was a "reasonable one".
- Reuters
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