Two independent investigations are under way into the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi, an innocent man who was beaten and burned to death after vigilante neighbours mistook him for a paedophile. The 44-year-old had taken photographs of local youths attacking his hanging baskets and intended to give the images to police as evidence. However, someone saw him with the camera and reported that he had taken pictures of children.
Police arrested Ebrahimi on suspicion of a public order offence and took him for questioning. While he was being held, residents began chanting 'Paedo, paedo' outside his council maisonette in Brislington, Bristol. Officers soon realised he was blameless and released him, but by then rumours had spread that he was a child abuser. Two days later, on 14 July, he was murdered.
Neighbour Lee James, 24, beat Ebrahimi unconscious and, with the help of friend Stephen Norley, also 24, dragged him into the street, doused him with white spirits and set him on fire. James has pleaded guilty to murder and Norley admitted assisting an offender. They are due to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court next month.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is examining how officers dealt with Ebrahimi before his death. Last month, the IPCC served notices of gross misconduct to three police constables who had dealings with the murdered man, as well as an inspector, sergeant and constable who dealt with him while in custody. All have been suspended by Avon and Somerset Police. Bristol City Council has also launched its own voluntary review of any contact it had with the victim.
In a family statement, Ebrahimi's relatives described him as a 'loving and caring man' who lived for his garden. They said: 'Bijan was a quiet, disabled man whose only joys in life came from his horticultural interests and his cat.' A police spokesman emphasised that Ebrahimi was innocent, stating: 'We can categorically state he had not taken any indecent images and that nothing of concern had been found on his computer.'
