The family are represented by Rajeev Thacker of the Garden Court Inquest and Inquiries Team and INQUEST Lawyers Group members Jo Eggleton, Rajiv Nair & Rachel Tribble of Deighton Pierce Glynn.
They are supported by INQUEST Caseworker Luana D’Arco.
The below content has been reproduced from an INQUEST release.
Sundeep Ghuman, 36, died on 19 February 2020 after sustaining serious head injuries the day before while locked in his cell in Belmarsh prison with his two cellmates, cousins Stephen Hilden and Terry Jocham.
Prison officers had moved the cousins into Sundeep’s cell, notwithstanding the fact that Stephen Hilden was flagged as a racist. Sundeep was a British Asian man.
Stephen Hilden was convicted of murder on 16 May 2022 and received a life sentence.
It is expected that the inquest will now consider the adequacy of the risk assessment process; the treatment of race and racism in decision making by prison staff and why Sundeep was sharing a cell with Stephen Hilden and Terry Jocham.
The family hope the inquest will address their concerns about the care that Sundeep received prior to his death and whether his death could have been prevented.
Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact Leila Hagmann at LeilaHagmann@inquest.org.uk.
Other Interested Persons represented at the inquest are HMP Belmarsh, Oxleas NHS Trust, Practice Plus Group, Stephen Hilden, Terry Jocham and Paul Knowles who was a prison officer.
23 October 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of British Asian 19-year-old Zahid Mubarek who was murdered by his racist cellmate on the morning of his release from Feltham Young Offender Institution. His death resulted in a public inquiry. The final report was published in 2006, with 186 recommendations made to prevent a similar tragedy occurring in British prisons.
