LONDON—An inquest jury in London has said there were “significant and multiple failings” by the authorities which led to a murder suspect taking his own life in Belmarsh prison in January 2020, while awaiting trial.
Liridon Saliuka, 29, was found hanged in his cell at Belmarsh on Jan. 2, 2020, six months after he was first remanded in custody for the murder of a man at a snooker club in east London.
On Thursday the jury recorded a narrative verdict in which they said: “There were repeated failings to consistently recognise the fact and extent of Mr. Saliuka’s disability resulting in further failure to implement reasonable adjustments, specifically relating to the provisions of an adequate mattress and to conduct an adequate medical assessment, prior to completing the move from the medical cell.”
They went on to say: “There were numerous instances of ill treatment of a discriminatory and dismissive nature, along with insufficient willingness to address Mr. Saliuka’s concern. We consider the above to have negatively impacted on Mr. Saliuka’s mental health and thus constitute contributing factors to Mr. Saliuka’s suicide.”
The inquest heard Saliuka had suffered serious injuries in a car crash in 2018 and suffered from back pain which was exacerbated if he did not have a special mattress.
When he arrived in the prison the authorities agreed he could have an orthopaedic mattress but a week before he died he was punished by being put “on report” after he tried to refuse being moved from a wheelchair-adapted “medical cell.”
Prison officer James Whitbread said it had been a “coincidence” he had been in the medical cell and he was moved to the cell in which he died for security reasons, because he was a Category A inmate.
Saliuka was eventually moved on Dec. 31, 2019, and he told his sister, Dita, he was sleeping on the floor of the cell because the mattress was too thin and hurt his back. This was confirmed to the inquest by a member of the prison’s social care team.
During an altercation on the morning of Jan. 2, 2020, during which he had to be restrained by prison officers, Saliuka also referred to the mattress and said he was unable to sleep.
Later that afternoon prison officers found Saliuka, kneeling on the floor of his cell, hanging from a dressing gown cord that had been tied around the bars on the window.
After the inquest was over, Saliuka told The Epoch Times: “I’m so happy.”
Family Moved to London During War in Kosovo in 1998
Last week Saliuka’s sister told the inquest Liridon was born in Kosovo in 1990 and was the third of four children.The family moved to London in 1998, fleeing the conflict in Kosovo between the Yugoslavian government of President Slobodan Milosevic and the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Saliuka said the family was “financially stable” in Kosovo and it was a shock to come to England.
“To then move to a country where both our parents were jobless, unable to speak English, and not have many family members here to turn to, this was particularly difficult for our family and especially Liridon,” she said.
Saliuka was almost killed in a car accident in January 2018 and was taken to hospital by air ambulance.
His sister said: “Liridon had to have a blood transfusion due to internal bleeding and was in a coma for 10 days. During his time in a coma, he had to have a lot of surgery and things were very touch and go for him.”
He eventually recovered but suffered from back pain which, she said, meant he needed a special mattress to sleep on.
In July 2019 Saliuka, an unemployed fitness instructor, was charged with the murder of Grineo Daka at the Phoenix snooker club in Leyton, and his sister said he was not allowed to call his family for the first three weeks he was in prison.
“When he was finally allowed to call, his first words were ‘sis listen to me, I love you all and I am innocent, I have not done anything wrong, and I am coming home soon because I will clear my name,’” Saliuka told the inquest.
In May 2021 Jeton Krasniqi, 27, was convicted of Grineo Daka’s murder at the Phoenix snooker club and he was jailed for life.
At that trial prosecutor Lisa Wilding, KC, claimed Saliuka brought a gun into the club, hidden in a bag, and gave it to Krasniqi.
She told the jury: “The prosecution say it was Jeton Krasniqi who was provided with the gun by Mr. Saliuka and it was Krasniqi who used it with fatal and devastating effect.”
But the Saliuka family deny he brought a gun into the club or was involved in any way in Daka’s death.
During the inquest, Saliuka said: “Even though he is not here with us anymore, Liridon was and will always be a very much-loved son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. His loss has created a huge void in our lives.”
