Newport man Mouayed Bashir 'restrained by police' before death

Mouayed Bashir, left, died after police were called to his home

A man who was restrained by police in his home died a short time later in hospital, an inquest has heard.

Gwent Police and an ambulance were called to the home of Mouayed Bashir, 29, in Maesglas, Newport on 17 February.

Newport Coroner's Court heard he was taken to hospital in Cwmbran where he was pronounced dead.

Mr Bashir's inquest will be held in July 2022 in front of a jury - the delay is due to a Covid backlog.

Mr Bashir, who was born in Karachi, Pakistan, was pronounced dead at 11:41 GMT at Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran and his body was identified by his father.

Coroner's officer Paul Richardson said: "Police restrained Mr Bashir and transported him to hospital by ambulance".

A post-mortem examination was carried out "but no precise cause of death has been given at this time".

Gwent Police previously referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct which is investigating the circumstances of the incident.

Gwent Police has referred itself to the police complaints watchdog, in line with standard procedures

Senior coroner for Gwent, Caroline Saunders, said: "The circumstances of his death, in that he died in or shortly after being in police custody, and that his cause of death is currently unascertained, require me to investigated his death under the terms of an inquest."

She explained to Mr Bashir's family, through an interpreter, why his inquest would not be held until next year.

She added: "This court has been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and was initially closed for a period of time.

"We have got a significant backlog of inquests to be heard, in addition there are a significant number of cases that need to be heard with a jury. We have only just started hearing jury cases again.

"Mouayed's inquest must be heard with a jury also, and therefore July next year is the first available date I can hear his inquest."