This inquest will be an important opportunity for Jean's family to:

1) discover more of the truth about the actions on the police at Stockwell tube station in July 2005

2) have their legal representatives ask questions directly to the officers responsible

3) have the secret 'Shoot to Kill' policy brought into the public domain

We must ensure that the inquest is conducted in a fair, transparent and open manner so that the Metropolitan police feel the pressure of public accountability.

Members of Jean's family are travelling from Brazil and will attend the inquest.

The inquest will take place at The Oval cricket ground in Kennington and is likely to continue for three months. Proceedings will be held from Monday to Thursday every week, between 9.45am and 4.30pm. Members of the public can attend but space is very limited, which is a real concern. The coroner has arranged for an overflow room with a video link to the inquest, but this means the inquest jury will have no indication of the public interest in the evidence that is presented.

This is coupled with the coroner's decision to grant anonymity to 44 police officers, who will give their evidence from behind a screen. It is difficult to understand why they need this high level of protection and seems largely designed to ensure that named individuals evade responsibility for the deliberate killing of an innocent man. Both decisions severely undermine the principle of an open, transparent investigation.

Take Action

We urge you to attend the inquest, particularly on:

22nd September – the first day, when the Campaign will be highlighting the lack of space for members of the public and calling for the inquest to be moved to a larger venue. Anyone coming on the first day of the inquest should try and attend a planning meeting on Thursday 18th September at 6:30pm at School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square WC1H 0XG – stay in contact for further details.

30th September – when the first police officer will give evidence anonymously and when the Campaign will be highlighting how this is an obstacle to public accountability. There will be another planning meeting on the evening of Thursday 25th September – stay in contact for further details.

Stay in Contact

The Campaign has set up a blog for the duration of the inquest, which you can find at  http://inquest.justice4jean.org. Here you can find details on travelling to the inquest, a calendar of forthcoming events, details of Campaign meetings, briefings and latest developments.

If you attend the inquest, please write a short piece about what happened and e-mail it to us. We'll add it to the blog.

We can be contacted on 07944 069 956 or at  justice4jean@gmail.com. If you are a member of Face Book, join up to our group at  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3035927451

Spread the Word

Forward this email to as many people as you can and encourage them to attend the inquest or take one or more of the actions planned by the Campaign.

Send a letter to coroner John Sampson or an e-mail via his clerk, John Thompson, raising concerns about the issues of space and the anonymity of police officers:

John Sampson
H M Coroner for London (Inner South)
1 Tennis Street
London
SE1 1YD

E-mail:  john.thompson@southwark.gov.uk

Send a letter or email to the local and national press – e-mail addresses for the letters pages of national newspapers can be found at  http://inquest.justice4jean.org.

Over three years after Jean's brutal death, we need to remind the state of the extent of public disgust about the conduct of the police and the consistently failures to let Jean's family finally know the truth. Now more than ever, we need everyone to act.

Many thanks,