A WOMAN faces a £500 fine for organising protests following the death of a man who died hours after being released from police custody in Cardiff.

The unnamed woman is accused of breaching Welsh Government coronavirus regulations by organising demonstrations outside Cardiff Bay police station after Mohamud Hassan’s death.

Mr Hassan, 24, was arrested on the evening of Friday, January 8 on suspicion of a breach of the peace after reports of a disturbance at his home but released the following morning without charge.

He was found dead at the same property later that evening, with his family claiming he had been assaulted while in custody, but police say there are no indications of excessive force used by their officers.

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On Friday, South Wales Police said one woman has been reported for summons by organising the protests on Tuesday and Wednesday, in which around 200 people attended on both occasions demanding video footage of Mr Hassan’s arrest and time in custody be made public.

The woman has the option of paying a £500 fixed penalty notice or requesting a court hearing.

Two further protests outside the police station occurred on Thursday and Friday, and police say further enquires are ongoing with regard to all demonstrations.

A police spokesperson said: “Welsh Government regulations are in place to protect the community from the spread of Covid-19 and this action was taken in an effort to protect the public’s health during this global pandemic.

“Enquiries into the protests are continuing and further action against other individuals for breaching Covid-19 regulations and, or other criminal offences, is anticipated.”

Earlier on Friday, the force’s chief constable Jeremy Vaughan described Mr Hassan’s death as a “tragedy” and that an independent investigation was ongoing, but urged would-be protesters to keep to Covid-19 guidelines.

“I know people want to make their voices heard; the prevalence of racial discrimination and disadvantage across all parts of our society is such an important issue that voices should be heard,” he said.

“In ordinary times policing will do all it can to facilitate people lawfully exercising that right to be heard.

“These are no ordinary times. A global health pandemic is affecting all of us and the virus is spreading, leading to unimaginable pressures on the National Health Service, and I would urge people to follow the regulations and guidelines to help protect the NHS and save lives.

“I need my police officers to be working hard to protect the public, to respond to incidents of domestic violence and abuse, to respond to sexual violence, knife crime and all other forms of violence and hatred.”

CCTV and body-worn video involving Mr Hassan has been handed to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) who are investigating officers’ contact with him.

The force have said the material cannot be publicly released until the conclusion of the IOPC investigation.

The IOPC’s director for Wales, Catrin Evans, said the investigation will look at the level of force used by officers, but that early indications following post-mortem examination showed no physical trauma to explain his death.

His aunt, Zainab Hassan, said she saw Mr Hassan following his release on Saturday with “lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises”.