MOSCOW, December 17 (Sputnik) - A UK court has found three UK security guards not guilty of killing an Angolan man, Jimmy Mubenga, who died from a heart attack during his deportation from the UK, according to BBC.
The men "bitterly regret the death of Mr. Mubenga but have always said they were trying to do a very difficult job in difficult circumstances, to the best of their ability,” Alex Preston from Olliers Solicitors, a legal company specializing with criminal cases, cited by the newspaper.
Three guards from G4S security firm were accused of restricting Mubenga’s breathing ability by restraining him to his seat due to his allegedly aggressive behavior. The guards said they used the restraining tactic to prevent Mubanga from hurting himself and other passengers.
According to the available data, passengers heard the man crying “I can’t breathe”, but security guards did nothing to help him, leaving him sitting with his head down on his knees, a dangerous position which can cause asphyxia. When the guards were conceived of Mubanga’s critical condition, it was too late, said prosecutor Mark Dennis.
The court has found the three contractors not guilty, a decision which has left his wife in a state of despair.
“For the last four years I have fought for justice for Jimmy and our five children,” said Adrienne Makenda Kambana, cited by the Guardian. “It is hard for me to understand how the jury reached this decision with all the overwhelming evidence that Jimmy said over and over that he could not breathe,” she added.
Jimmy Mubenga’s widow: I can’t watch this happen to another family http://t.co/4FdvwvSaUH pic.twitter.com/td0BqeOCgO
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) 16 декабря 2014
Mubenga and his wife entered the UK in 1994 and received official permission to stay in the country. After a fight in a nightclub in 2006, Mubenga was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. After serving his sentence, he was brought to an immigration detention center and placed on a plane to Angola, following the decision of UK authorities on his deportation.
