Woman has 'no faith' in GMP custody probe

Zayna Iman said a medical examination showed evidence of sexual injuries

A woman who claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted in a cell at a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) station has told the BBC she has no confidence in official reviews set up to investigate her claims.

Zayna Iman waived her right to anonymity to speak about her detention at Pendleton police station in 2021.

Former government victims commissioner Dame Vera Baird and the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) have both requested CCTV footage of her time in custody.

But GMP said two hours of the footage was missing.

Ms Iman said a medical examination carried out after her detention showed evidence of sexual injuries.

Greater Manchester Police said it had called in a digital forensics professional because it had been unable to recover parts of the footage

Speaking ahead of a report by Dame Vera, due to be released within the next four months, Ms Iman said: "I fail to understand how anyone can conduct a thorough investigation into my experience with Greater Manchester Police unless they have all the evidence."

"I'd be lying if I said I was confident in either process," she added.

CCTV footage that has been disclosed shows Ms Iman being strip searched by female officers who carried her into her cell, restrained her face down and left her topless.

Ms Iman said she had large gaps in her memory from her time in custody and believed she might have been drugged by a drink that could be seen being brought into her cell in the hours before the footage went blank.

'Very serious allegations'

Greater Manchester mayor and police commissioner Andy Burnham asked Dame Vera to head up an inquiry into the treatment of women and girls in police custody in the wake of concerns generated by coverage of Ms Iman's claims.

The IOPC, with whom police forces are legally required to cooperate, said it was investigating her "very serious allegations".

The force denied "deliberately" withholding the footage after Sky News first broadcast Ms Iman's allegations in 2023.

The force said at the time "digital forensics professionals" had been called in because it had been "unable to recover" some segments of footage after a disc "corrupted", while the footage had been automatically overwritten from a computer server it was stored on.

Ms Iman said the footage "would either prove or disprove my allegations".

"The fact GMP is claiming it's been corrupted is because it substantiates my allegations."

"If it didn't, I would have had it by now", she alleged.

Ms Iman's custody log records that she was arrested after "slapping" an officer called to her home due to a concern over her welfare.

Ms Iman said the force took no further action over the incident after her arrest.

Ms Iman was held at Pendleton police station

Viewing the footage again three years after the incident, Ms Iman described herself as looking "agitated" in the minutes before and after one of the hour-long sections of missing CCTV footage.

Ms Iman told the BBC she was only informed the footage had been corrupted because of a police press statement, and pointed to internal emails disclosed to her under data laws which she said had implied the footage existed in full.

An email from the force's internal professional standards branch, sent in April 2022, said custody footage had been reviewed and "no assault of any type took place".

The letter said the incident was not initially referred to the IOPC because Ms Iman's complaint had been considered "fanciful" due to her "delusional state".

Ms Iman is calling for police procedure to be overhauled so that footage from CCTV and body worn video cameras would be held by an independent organisation, which she said would ensure "there's no conflict of interest when complainants ask for footage".

'Not fit for purpose'

An IOPC spokesperson said: "Attempts to retrieve two hours of missing CCTV footage from the cell of Pendleton custody suite are ongoing and we are currently making arrangements to carry out further investigative work".

They said investigators had made "considerable progress" in obtaining accounts from police officers and staff, and were in the process of "reviewing GMP's actions in accordance with the relevant training material for officers and staff dealing with detainees in custody".

Ms Iman said police complaints procedures were "not fit for purpose", and said "I wouldn't be talking to the media if I had been heard" by the complaints process.

"Custody should be the safest place, a police station should be the safest place," she added.

Deputy Greater Manchester mayor Kate Green said Vera Baird's report had been completed and was being "reviewed" which they said involved "several stages, including legal and due diligence checks, and sharing with the complainants".

Greater Manchester Police Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said the force was "fully committed" to supporting the reviews.

"It is important to GMP that these are detailed and robust in order to reassure the communities we serve that transparent and objective investigations of the issues have been conducted, and that those the force comes into contact with are treated with respect," he added.

A Home Office spokesperson said Ms Iman's allegations were "deeply concerning" and needed to be "properly and thoroughly investigated".

"However, culture and standards in policing must improve and change must come from the top, and that is why we have prioritised the reform of police senior leadership development," they added.

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