Man jailed for vigilante murder

A disabled man who was beaten to death and set on fire was wrongly labelled as a paedophile by neighbours after photographing youths he suspected of vandalising his treasured hanging baskets.

The court was shown footage of killer Lee James drinking a can of beer in a communal area in front of the flats while looking after his children, which Bijan Ebrahimi had filmed.

"Whatever the cause of it, there were a number of neighbours who were hostile to Mr Ebrahimi and alleged he was a paedophile," the prosecutor said. "There is in fact no evidence whatsoever to support this claim."

Lee James was given a life sentence and told he would serve a minimum of 18 years of the "act of murderous injustice".

Read: Man jailed for vigilante murder

Bristol Crown Court was shown video footage of murderer Lee James bursting into his victim's flat and threatening him.

Prosecution barrister Andrew Langdon QC told the court that Bijan Ebrahimi, who was killed in a vigilante attack, filmed his neighbours from his property because he felt he was being "targeted".

"It is clear he felt under siege and explained himself to the police as filming to gather evidence of the behaviour of his neighbours, which he found objectionable", he added.

Read: Man jailed for vigilante attack

On one occasion when murderer Lee James was removed from his victim's home by police he told officers he would "do time" and said his children would be "proud" of his crime.

"He was furious and crying in anger," Prosecutor Andrew Langdon told the court. "He said 'I will do time, I ain't having him takings pictures of my kids. She can look after the kids. If they ask why I am inside I will tell them I did it for them and they will be proud of me'."

Bijan Ebrahimi was subsequently arrested for "his own safety".

Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Nick Gargan said today that there was a "collective failure" on the part of statutory agencies and others to protect vigilante murder victim Bijan Ebrahimi.

"We still await their [IPCC] report and therefore it is not appropriate for me to say more about that police response...Nevertheless, notwithstanding that outcome it is clear that there was a collective failure on the part of statutory agencies and others to protect Mr Ebrahimi."

"...We cannot wait for all the various external investigative processes to run their course before we start learning lessons for the future. We need to have some frank and candid local discussions with our partners and our communities about what we collectively can do to stop this happening again."

Three police officers have been served with gross misconduct notices and are currently suspended while a further two have been served with misconduct notices but remain at work, Avon and Somerset Police said.

Police have released video footage of Lee James confronting Bijan Ebrahimi in his home.

During the exchange, James tells Mr Ebrahimi that if he calls the police he will tell them he was taking pictures of him, adding, "How old are you? I'm a little boy".

Mr Ebrahimi calmly tells James to leave his house, to which he responds, "Trust me, if you take pictures of me again I'll f*** you up".

As the actions of Avon and Somerset Police are investigated by the IPCC, Detective chief inspector Rachel Williams extended the force's sympathy to Bijan Ebrahimi's family and friends.

She added that the actions of these two men "do not represent the wider community of Bristol."

The sister of a disabled man who was beaten to death and set on fire after he was wrongly accused of being a paedophile said "lessons must be learned" following his death.

Bijan Ebrahimi's sister Manizhah Moores said after his killer was sentenced: "A wonderful son, brother and uncle has been lost to this world.

"The next question to be answered is whether Bijan's death could have been avoided if he had received the protection he deserved from the authorities.

"Lessons must be learned before other vulnerable lives are lost".

Read: Man jailed for vigilante murder

Judge Mr Justice Simon described the circumstances of the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi and the subsequent burning of his body as "deeply shocking."

He noted that the victim had made several calls to police reporting hostility from his neighbours and seeking assistance on the evening he was killed.

Read: Killer Lee James jailed for a minimum of 18 years

An anti-racism charity told ITV News society had "failed" Bijan Ebrahimi, the disabled man who was murdered in a vigilante attack in Bristol.

Batook Pandya, the director of Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI), said: "There is a person who is disabled ... who was burned, who kept on going to the authorities for help - we failed him.

"The civil society - we failed him".