Rashid Abbasi Against Northumbria Police - Case Update
ben83735
May 23
2 min read
The civil trial of Dr. Abbasi against the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police concluded on 23 May 2025 at Newcastle upon Tyne County Court.
Following the decision, Dr. Abbasi stated:
"My daughter Zainab was the light of my life. She was a critically ill young girl. She needed both her parents by her bedside. Any father would have been desperate to stay by their child.
The police officers’ actions to take me away from her, less than an hour after we were told that she would receive palliative care, were callous, brutal and inhuman. Re-watching the footage makes my blood boil. It lays bare the full horror of the attack.
At Court this week, the officers accepted that, from the time when they arrived until the time they laid hands on me, I was not acting aggressively. They accepted that I was not threatening anyone. They accepted that I was not intimidating anyone.
I am disappointed therefore that the arrest was held to be lawful and the description of me by the Judge as a menace was unwarranted and hurtful and is not borne out by the video footage which tells its own story.
I will be seeking advice from my lawyers in respect of an appeal."
Daniel Cooper, Partner at Imran Khan & Partners added:
"Our client was sitting peacefully by his dying daughter’s bedside, when police officers decided to drag him away.
As the body worn footage shows, the force they used to do so was brutal, painful, and highly inappropriate given our client was a grieving father on a children’s intensive care ward.
In evidence, the officers accepted that, from the time when they arrived to the time they laid hands on our client, he was not acting aggressively. They accepted that he was not threatening anyone. They accepted that he was not intimidating anyone.
We do not consider that it was reasonable for the arresting officer, PC Baxter, to form a belief that our client was going to imminently breach the peace.
We are therefore disappointed the arrest was found to be lawful.
We will be advising our client on the merits of an appeal in due course."
Further updates will be provided as the case progresses.
