A JURY is to decide whether the actions of immigration officers contributed to the death of a Sudanese asylum seeker who fell to his death during a raid on a Newport car wash where he worked.

Mustafa Dawood, 23, suffered head injuries after falling from the roof of Shaftesbury hand car wash while being pursued by officers.

Mr Dawood had fled persecution in his home country of Sudan and claimed asylum in the UK. But his claim had been refused by the UK Home Office, an inquest at Gwent Coroner’s Court heard.

The court heard how just after 10am on June 30, 2018, officers arrived at Albany Trading Estate on intelligence that foreign nationals were working there illegally and chased Mr Dawood, who ran onto the roof of a warehouse, believing he would be arrested.

Concerned about his safety, the officer in charge, Matthew Day, said he called off the pursuit, but other officers present that day said they do not remember receiving the order to stop.

While running away, Mr Dawood fell through plastic roofing into a locked room below, where he was eventually found with “severe and fatal” head wounds.

Coroner Caroline Saunders told the jury they must consider whether after the pursuit was called off officers remained relatively close to Mr Dawood, and if their proximity to him contributed to his death.

Ms Saunders also asked them to consider if the order to abandon the pursuit was effectively communicated to all officers, and if not, whether this contributed to his death.

They will also have to consider whether the decision by an immigration officer to keep his baton drawn while Mr Dawood was trying to come down from the roof was a possible factor.

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And they were also asked to consider whether the officers who attended were appropriately trained in pursuit procedures and, if not, whether this contributed to Mr Dawood’s death.

Ms Saunders said she would not ask the jury to decide whether the risk assessments carried out prior to the raid were adequate.

Or if additional officers had been deployed to block exits, whether or not this would have prevented Mr Dawood’s death.

It is believed Mr Dawood climbed onto the roof of the car wash, mistakenly believing he would be arrested.

However, officer Gregory Williams told the court Mr Dawood would not have been arrested and instead would have been told to go home, while the car wash would have been handed a fine.

Nor would he have been deported, Mr Williams claimed, given the current situation in Sudan.

During the week-long inquest, the jury heard how Mr Dawood was from the Zaghawa tribe in the Darfur region of western Sudan – a non-Arabic people who face ethnic cleansing by local Arab militia groups.

Mr Dawood’s mother Hameda Hamed Shogar Ahmed, who has been present in court throughout the inquest, described how her son had found himself in increasing danger and decided to leave, fleeing to the UK in 2015.

She said: “(In Sudan) there is so much killing every day, so many young people are killed or disappeared – that’s why our young men have to flee to avoid the same destiny.

“My son was not a thief or a murderer, he was just a young person asking for safety.”

Ms Saunders told the jury: “Mustafa’s asylum status and the actions of the authorities are outside the scope of this inquest.”

The jury have now retired to consider their conclusions.