Permanent Menezes memorial in London

From British daily The Independent:

Permanent memorial to Menezes agreed

By Chris Greenwood, PA

Thursday, 10 December 2009

A memorial to Jean Charles de Menezes will be erected permanently at the London Underground station where he was shot dead by police.

Relatives said Transport for London (TfL) has agreed to allow a colourful mosaic picture of the Brazilian to remain at Stockwell Tube station.

The move ends several years of arguing between the two parties about an enduring monument to his death on July 22, 2005.

The mosaic, created by local artist Mary Edwards, will replace an improvised pavement shrine of flowers, candles, pictures and newspaper articles.

Vivian Figueiredo, a cousin of Mr Menezes who lived with him before his death, said she was pleased at the decision.

She said: “The pain of never achieving justice for Jean’s killing continues to haunt us every day.

“But knowing his memory will be kept alive in the local community through this memorial is a tribute we could not have dreamed of.

“We thank all the members of the public who have supported us from the bottom of our hearts.”

Mr Menezes, 27, was shot dead by counter-terrorist officers hunting for would-be suicide bomber Hussain Osman on the day after the failed July 21 attacks.

The shooting provoked a series of wide-ranging inquiries which hauled police tactics, supervision and individual decisions over the coals.

Coroner Sir Michael Wright recorded an open verdict at the end of a multimillion-pound inquest last year after a jury rejected the police account of the shooting.

The family accepted a six-figure compensation deal from the Metropolitan Police last month.

The inquest into the death of a man shot dead by a police marksman involved in the death of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes has resumed at Folkestone magistrates’ court.

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