Shukri Yahye-Abdi: Schoolgirl's river death 'was an accident' - BBC News
There is "no evidence whatsoever" that Shukri Yahye-Abdi was pushed in a river, a coroner says.
Shukri Yahye-Abdi came to the UK in 2017

The death of a 12-year-old refugee girl who drowned in a river was an accident, a coroner has ruled.

Shukri Yahye-Abdi, who came to the UK in 2017, died after entering the River Irwell in Bury on 27 June 2019 while holding hands with another child, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Coroner Joanne Kearsley said there was "no evidence whatsoever" to suggest that Shukri was pushed into the river.

She added that claims Shukri had been bullied were "totally incorrect".

Shukri's mother Zam Zam Ture said the verdict had not brought "justice" for her daughter.

Following the inquest, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it did not find evidence to indicate Shukri's family were treated less favourably by police because of their ethnic background.

Shukri's family had claimed she had been pushed into the water by girls who had been bullying her.

Her school later said it would review its anti-bullying policy amid concerns raised in the community.

Ms Kearlsey said there was no evidence of racist bullying by other children and such claims were "simply rumours and unhelpful speculation".

She said Shukri had gone into the river while holding hands with Child One and moved into deeper water after the 12-year-old was told she would be taught to swim.

She said Child One had been "naive and foolish" but what she did did not amount to manslaughter.

Shukri's mother Zam Zam Ture said she felt "so bad" about the verdict

Shukri's family's lawyer said they would seek a judicial review of the inquest's findings.

Ms Ture said she felt "so bad today" as she had waited a "long time for justice".

"I know what happened to my daughter. I know today I don't have justice, but the justice is coming," she added.

She had previously claimed institutional racism within Greater Manchester Police (GMP) meant officers failed to carry out a full investigation into her daughter's death.

The IOPC said there was "insufficient evidence on which a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct for any of the individual officers could be found".

"Therefore the complaints against GMP are not upheld," an IOPC spokeswoman said.

The IOPC's final report said GMP officers had reached the river within three minutes of receiving the report about Shukri being in trouble and taken witness accounts "almost immediately".

It said officers had visited the 12-year-old's school the following day and "added relevant information concerning bullying to their investigation".

It added that GMP had "promptly brought in translation services" and a family liaison officer had communicated with Shukri's family throughout.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe said the complaints received following the 12-year-old's death "were treated with the upmost seriousness and very carefully assessed against the evidence available to us".

"I am satisfied that [GMP's investigation] was carried out in line with national and local policies and procedures," she said.

She added that while "nothing we can do or say will bring Shukri back", she hoped the IOPC's work could give her family "the clarity and facts they had rightly sought".

In the aftermath of the 12-year-old's death, more than a million people signed a petition about the case, calling for "justice for Shukri" and thousands of people attended events marking the anniversary of her death.

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