Inquest into the death of Amer Ali Fareed

27/06/2025

Mirren represented the family of Amer Ali Fareed, whose inquest took place between 23 June and 27 June 2025 at Surrey Coroner’s Court. The jury concluded that Amer, a prisoner detained at HMP High Down, died from drug toxicity leading to heart failure. The jury found that “there was a serious failure in the screening and the referral procedures for Amer to be provided the relevant [substance] misuse support” and that there was “a failure to carry out the scheduled welfare and rol[l] check call at 8pm”. The jury further found that there was a delay in allowing paramedics access to Amer and that “the availability of synthetic cannabinoid in HMP High Down in the summer of 2023 may have contributed to his death on 8 August 2023”.

During the inquest, the jury heard that at the time of Amer’s death, HMP High Down was dealing with a high level of drugs in the prison, particularly psychoactive substances, and that there was a lack of resources to combat this. The jury also heard that Amer, who had a known history of substance misuse, was not referred for substance misuse support as he should have been in line with prison practice.

Mirren was instructed by Aya Alshekhili at Imran Khan & Partners.