‘What we have here is a total failure to give me and my family the support and care that was needed, and for them to try and charge me with an offence a complete and utter travesty of justice. My 4 year old daughter watched her father get kicked in the head as he lay unconscious on the road. Had I have been a white father, I have no doubt but to believe the police and council would have applied maximum force to contain the anti-social and racist element’

Zulf Shah

Today is the twentieth anniversary of Stephen’s racist murder in Eltham. From figures from the Institute of Race Relations 106 people have lost their lives in (known or suspected) racist attacks – five per year on average since his death.* For our communities in different parts of the country racial violence has never gone away. Zia Ullah from the Justice4Paps campaign has been supporting a Housing Association resident in his fight not only against racial violence and harassment in Micklefield but the gross failure of the local Thames Valley Police team, staff at Red Kite Housing and local councillors.

Zulf Shah and his family moved to a house in the area in June 2011. In July last year he was assaulted by a two people on his road and hospitalised from his injuries after he challenged a group of young people who were kicking a ball against his car. He was he was punched and knocked unconscious and then repeatedly kicked in the head.

Prior to this he and his family had been constantly racially abused and his vehicle being damaged with no action taking place against the perpetuators from either the police or Red Kite. Indeed in this instance even though he was assaulted and a victim of racial violence and harassment he was charged with ABH and a possible eviction threatened by the Housing Association.

‘Police officers collecting statements from the thugs that racially abused my family and attacked me but did not take any statements from myself my wife or children, the person who took to me to hospital and even the neighbours who witnessed the attack and the harassment’

Last week the case against Zulf was thrown out of court due to a lack of evidence and Zia in his role as a community advocate and Justice4Paps are supporting his campaign to get answers and justice.

Key concerns/issues

• Why NO statements were initially collected from other witnesses including
Zulf’s family?

• Why were crime reference numbers NOT given when requested?

• Why were the statements that the families eventually made NOT submitted to
the court by the police? Suppression of evidence goes against the Human
Rights Act and in a court situation is perjury

• Why was Zulf Shah treated as a perpetrator rather than a victim when all the
evidence pointed to this?

• Why has NO action being taken against young people and their families who
took part in the attack and the harassment against Zulf and his family and
other Asian families by TVP and Red Kite?

Zia and Zulf were subsequently contacted by other families including white ones about the high levels of anti-social behaviour but in particular racial violence and harassment. The Gull family alerted them of a whole series of incidents from 2009 onwards prior to Zulf moving there.





Justice4Paps remind the authorities; Thames Valley Police and Wycombe District Council of their obligations under the Crime and Disorder Act and Public Duties around race equality. The Police are also committed to the equality objectives as laid out by their own Single Equality scheme. In the context of the recent statement made by the police about hate crime victims not suffering in silence the level of professional incompetence and failure has been staggering:

 http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/localnews/highwycombe/10164303._Hate_crime_victims_don_t_need_to_suffer_in_silence_/

‘We know already that Thames Valley Police doctor and tailor their statements from Habib’s case, but it seems they also choose to ignore racist and hate crime, they don't want to acknowledge it or even want to comprehend it. These families suffered and suffer because of the lack of intelligence of the TVP and because of continuing poor institutional practice. Twenty years after Stephen Lawrence’s’ death, racial violence and harassment is still alive and kicking in High Wycombe whilst the authorities do nothing!’

Zia Ullah

The Justice for Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah campaign was set up in July 2008 after the death of Habib during a routine stop and search in a car park in High Wycombe 2008. So far the campaign in partnership with family members have organised nine vigils in the town centre/Police station, a demonstration through the town, three public meetings, and attended national and regional demonstrations against deaths in custody. Additionally we have set up a public website with the support of the Family Web Pages Collective and a successful Facebook page.

*  http://www.irr.org.uk/news/racial-violence-since-the-death-of-stephen-lawrence/


Further information:

Zulf Shah Family member 07852241835
Zia Ullah Family contact/advocate 07869360377/07597873614
Saqib Deshmukh Volunteer information worker 07766464358