24 November 201520 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Ms Dhu’s family calls for end to jail for fines as death in custody inquest begins

source: The Guardian
published: 23 November 2015

The family of Aboriginal woman Ms Dhu, who died while paying off a fine by serving time in police cells, has called for an end to the practice of jailing people for unpaid fines.

Ms Dhu, a 22-year-old Yamatji woman whose full name is not used for cultural reasons, was found unresponsive in a cell at the South Hedland police station on 4 August, 2014. An inquest into her death began in Perth on Monday.

She had been taken into custody four days earlier because she had about $1,000 in unpaid fines, and had twice been taken to hospital and returned to her cell after complaining of severe stomach pains.

17 September 201520 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Meet the British families who have opened their homes to asylum seekers

source: The Guardian
published: 7 September 2015

For the past 10 years, the Boaz Trust in Manchester has tried to find accommodation for destitute asylum seekers. Until very recently, the Christian charity often struggled to find enough households willing to take these most vulnerable of strangers into their homes.

All that changed last week with the harrowing photo of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose tiny body became the symbol of the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe for decades when it washed up on a beach in Turkey.

20 July 201520 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Sheku Bayoh: Partner says her tears will not dry

source: Daily Record
published: 19 July 2015

The heartbroken partner of a man who died after being restrained by police has told how her tears will not dry until she gets justice for him. Collette Bell says she has researched deaths in custody similar to boyfriend Sheku Bayoh’s and has been left “horrified”.

She also told of her grief at the loss of Sheku – who she called Sheik – and how their five-month-old son Isaac constantly reminds her of his dad.

The 27-year-old will join his family and friends at a series of events to raise funds for their campaign to find out how Sheku died.