14/07/2014 BBC Points West

One year on from the murder of a Bristol refugee his falily s

Bijan Ebrahimi's sisters return to the flats where he was khlled

asking whether more could h`ve been done to help him.

It is agonising waiting. It is really hard and it is unimaginable

pain because we go through that every day. We want to find out what

happened and what is going to be the final results.

20 years since the first wolen priests were ordained in Brhstol `

the vote that has opened thd door for a woman bishop in the wdst too.

The road that's falling down a hill ` how the effects of a wet winter

And have doctors found a magic therapy?

The psychedelic mushrooms that could be used to treat

First tonight, a family still desperate for answers.

A year ago today Bijan Embr`himi was beaten to death outside his home in

Mr Ebrahimi, an Iranian reftgee was murdered by a neighbour

after wrongly being accused of being a paedophile.

Although a man's been convicted there are still questions about

how authorities handled the situation.

Jon Kay took Mr Ebrahimi's sisters back to the scene of the killing.

Exactly one year after Bijan Embrahimi was killed outside

his flat here, two of his shsters returned here to the scene.

Bijan Embrahimi, who was originally from Iran,

was beaten to death and his body was then set on fire after rumours

circulated in the Brislington area that he was a paedophile.

The police say those rumours were completely untrue.

We cannot forget what happened to Bijan.

We just go through over and over and his thoughts are always with us

It is very difficult to think about the fact he is not with us any

more. I come here, it just brings back those mdmories

It is really important to us to remember him as he was,

A few days before he was killed Bijan Embrahimi filmed the lan who

Lee James, a neighbour, was jailed last November.

Along with Stephen Norley who also lived on the road

That was not the end of the investigation.

For the last year, the Independent Police Complaints

Commission has been looking into the way that the Avon and Somerset

force dealt with Bijan Embr`himi in the days before he was khlled.

The Crown Prosecution Service is now deciding whether or not to charge

three police officers and one community support officer.

And investigations are continuing into six other

One year on, for his sisters, still no definite outcome.

It is really hard and it is unimaginable pain that we

are going through every day to find out what has happened, what is going

We cannot wait any longer to find out what happened to Bhjan

We were promised by the IPCC the result would come out bx

the end of July and we are hoping to see the results by the end of July.

The family is also waiting for another review to be published

into the way Bristol City Council and other agencies dealt with

Bijan Embrahimi in the months and years before he was killed.

His sisters are frustrated that they had not been able to see all

the documents which show his contact with

If anyone should know it is the family and it is our right to

Bristol City Council has sahd its full report will be published

Tonight, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said

its investigation was compldx and intricate, and can not be rtshed.

One year after his death, the family of Bijan Embrahili say

they desperately need answers and justice.

A man appeared in court this morning charged with attempted murddr after

a 41`year`old man was stabbdd at Cribb's Causeway Shopping cdntre.

It happened on Saturday lunchtime at The Mall.

David Barrow was remanded in custody and will appear at Bristol Crown

The victim's in a stable condition at Southmead Hosphtal

A company which runs a water park in Gloucestershire where

a teenager drowned ` has adlitted it breached health and safety rules.

15 year old Kajil Devi drowned at the Cotswold Country Park and Beach

She couldn't swim and drowndd after slipping under the water.

W M Active pleaded guilty in court to a charge brought

But the firm denies being responsible for her death.

A case which may shed light on the eavesdropping work of GCHQ

in Cheltenham has begun in London today.

In the first public hearing of its kind, the intelligence agencies

including GCHQ which employs around 5,000 people in the West

is being taken to a tribunal by various human rights organisations.

They want a panel of senior judges to decide whether aspects of mass

Our Gloucestershre reporter Steve Knibbs reports from the

This is an extremely high profile, and the organisations bringhng

The Investigatory Powers Trhbunal usually meets in secret and was set

up to investigate complaints about the conduct of the intelligdnce

services such as GQHQ ` but this weeks hearing is in public.

It follows on of course frol the revelations of the formdr NSA

contractor, Edward Snowden, and in particular two internet surveillance

programmes ` Prism in America and an alleged project called Tdmpura

operated by GCHQ which it's claimed collects vast

It's interesting that the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Burton,

said today this weeks hearing will be based on mainly "assumed facts"

because the British governmdnt hasn't confirmed or denied the

Lawyers for organisations stch as Liberty, Amnesty and

Privacy International have brought this case because they have serious

concerns over the the legalhty of aspects of such surveill`nce

If we are innocent people and have nothing to hide,

why should we be worried about GCHQ getting hold of our data?

We all value our privacy and nobody wants to thinks that our

Privacy is an important valte for the whole of society.

The security services have powers to investigate people who are

suspicious but we would question the right to trawl through everxthing.

Intelligence law is complex but Liberty's lawyer claimed today

that warrants signed by the Home Secretary to allow the interception

of internet data could allow GCHQ to gather huge amounts of

communications from innocent people and that that wasn't proportionate

and the safeguards put in place robust enough.

The legal team representing GCHQ and the other intelligence services

will this week outline their case that what they do is covered

by strict legal controls and is always necessary and proportionate.

This tribunal will be watchdd closely for many reasons ` not only

for the decision made by five senior judges over whether the surveillance

has breached human rights, but also whether, for the first time, the

true extent of GCHQ's surveillance capabilities

The West could now be the fhrst place in England to appoint a woman

following the historic vote by the Church of England's governing body.

After almost five hours of debate, the General Synod approved

the proposal to allow women to take up senior roles in the Church.

The Bishop of Gloucester is to retire this

autumn, meaning a woman could now be appointed as his successor.

Our reporter Fiona Lamdin is at a church just outside

Gloucester, where people have been eagerly awaiting today's decision.

This is the biggest day for all of these people here who watch `` who

work in the Church of England in Gloucester. The celebrations are

underway with the bunting ptt up. The champagne has been opendd and

one professional has made a pink cake in anticipation of the yes

vote. They have spent the all of the things that had been going on and

this is the moment that the vote came through. It is obviously not

just these people, we have spent the day with people across the West as

they have eagerly awaited the boat. In the West, the priests ard

pioneers. The first women in the country were

ordained at Bristol Cathedr`l, Is it therefore your will that

they should be ordained pridsts The then officiating bishop said we

would have to wait ten years Two decades in

and we are still waiting. Two years ago it

nearly got through. I am cautiously hopeful but

until we have got the final count and the bishops

and the clergy, and the laypeople vote in three separate housds, last

time in the House of Laity, the We hope that enough

of those have changed their minds and this time it will go

through and we can move forward One of those who hasn't changed

her mind is Emma Ford. A teacher from Taunton who hs voting

today in the House of Laity. We don't believe that we have

the authority to make a change to 2,000 years worth

of tradition in the church. In November 2012,

I voted against for two reasons One, I am against the princhple

of women in the episcopate. And two, the whole package

on the table was not accept`ble As

the wrangling continues through the day in York, we asked peopld outside

Bristol Cathedral what they wanted? I cannot understand why there's

this debate still going on. I find it does not sit very well

with me but that is because I was brought up

in a very traditional church where it was men and they were sedn

as the, sort of, authority. I think it is very unusual that it

has taken the church of England this long to acttally

appoint women bishops. The West could again be leading

the way. Not only having the first

woman priest but also bishop. The current Bishop of Gloucdster

retires in four months. I asked one woman high up in the

church if she would want thd job. I never dreamed that I would be

a priest or an Archdeacon. As it has came near,

it has got more exciting. It is a debate that has trotbled the

Church of England for four decades. We could just be months awax

from a woman in the top ranks. This is the first parish in England

in the 1970s join the movemdnt for the ordination of women. Thhs is the

decor for the church behind me. It is a big day for you, you h`ve been

ordained for 14 years, how `re you feeling? I was 16 when I johned the

movement and for 16 years I have been working to ensure that women

and men can take your place and every part of church life. Today it

is been made possible and it is wonderful. The bishop has announced

that he will be retiring here in November so it could mean that we

have the first woman bishop here in the next couple of months. What

would that mean for you, serving under a woman bishop? It wotld be

exciting whenever she ends tp. What is really good is that the Bishop in

this region has been an enormous supporter of women and men `nd has

worked nationally to make this happen. It is an exciting ftture

lover who comes here. How do you feel about a woman bishop in charge?

It is a very exciting day. We have had contrasting woman priest in the

last 20 years, why not a wolan bishop? For me it is an expression

to the nation that the church is moving into the 21st centurx at

last. Everyone is delighted and it is still a couple of pieces of cake

left to be eaten. I'm joined now by the

Venerable Nicola Sullivan, who is the Archdeacon of Wells and who has

been at the Synod this afternoon. Did you think that today wotld come?

It is been an extraordinary day not least because two years ago, it fell

in Synod and it did not go through. People were wondering whethdr the

Church of England would recover but today has come. Not only am I

delighted and so are so manx people here, we believe that the p`ckage on

the table, a measure that w`s before Synod today, puts the church of

England in a stronger place for the future. There was a commitmdnt in

the debate for unity across the church. That is a really important

aspect of today's decision. You say it is clearly a historic, does it

take the edge off, the compromise aspect of it. People can opt out if

they are opposed? That is rhght There will be provision for those

parishes who will not be able to accept the Ministry of a wolan

bishop in the future. The gdneral mood in Synod this afternoon by

those opposing the motion today was that there would be a willingness to

trust to go forward, to be not so much hiding behind a legal

framework, of all that is what we have been doing today, creating a

legal framework, but building relationships will be can ptt aside

differences and really be ottworked looking again. `` outworked. We are

a national church and peopld take notice of the decisions that we

make. There was that strong commitment and people who whll be

feeling disappointed with the outcome, there has been a strong

indication that they will work with the legislation as it is

implemented. That is good ndws for the charge. Do you think yot could

see yourself as a bishop? I did not quite catch that question. Do you

see yourself as a bishop? What a terrifying thought. This is not

being about personal ambition. I thank the Church of England could do

a whole lot better. This dods give a very clear signal to younger women

in the church who will bring extraordinary gifts and taldnts to

the office of bishop. What H look forward to is when we don't talk

about women bishops, we just talk about bishops. Thank you very much.

Welcome to BBC Points West at the start of your week.

We're very glad you could join us, we still have plenty more still to

Around a thousand of you joined a night time charity

For the first time, doctors from the West are using

psychedelic drugs to try to help people with mental illnesses.

A team from Bristol has started ushng

a chemical found in magic mtshrooms to help people with conditions like

But as our Health Correspondent Matthew Hill reports, using illegal

drugs in conventional medichne is still highly controversial.

He was the first psychiatrist in the UK to take a psychedelic drtg

from magic mushrooms to see if was safe for medical use.

Dr Sessa believes psychedelhcs could transform our understanding

of the relationship between the mind and brain.

One thing about the psychedelic drugs is that

I know about them and I know from my research that they `re safe

and relatively non`toxic drtgs from a physiological point of view.

The main risks and dangers `re the psychological risks if the drug

drug is taken in a way that is not controlled and carefully monitored.

The tablets in your hand each possess a tiny amount of LSD.

It was in the 1950s and 60s when experiments with

the psychedelic drug LSD was used to treat alcoholics.

Although the trial was somewhat primitive compared to modern

Out of two thousand patients it s claimed almost half managed to kick

their habit after just a cotple of therapy sessions.

But in 1966 this research c`me to a halt when LSD was made illegal.

Now this research laboratorx in Bristol is being used to test

a small group of volunteers who are taking psilocybin,

a drug derived from the acthve ingredient of magic mushrools.

This MRI scan shows the parts of the brain affected by thd drug.

They have already demonstrated that psilocybin switches off a p`rt

of the brain which is normally overactivd

That is very helpful for solebody that has got an intractable mental

health problems because of the area and the circuits

of the brain can be overacthve and cause distress and problems

Repetitive, negative thoughts such as I am worthless and I'm useless,

I need to starve myself, go around in their heads.

These doctors in Bristol have finally overturned

30 years of government resistance to this type of research.

It's been an uphill battle because it's much harder to use

psychedelic drugs for clinical trials than to use heroin.

Now that the team have demonstrated the drug is safe, if taken

in controlled settings, thex hope to be able to raise enough funding to

The after effects of the winter storms are sthll being

A road linking Ilminster with Langport has been closed

since heavy rains in February caused huge cracks to appear.

Now the county highways dep`rtment say they believe there's

a wider problem of land slipping on the hillside ` which is ` big

worry for people who live along the road, as Clinton Rogers reports

It's easy to see why they'vd had to close this road `

but the root cause of the problem isn't so easy to identify.

They have carried out subwaxs but they are not sure which is cost ``

what has caused this problel. They think it is linked to the

instability of this hillsidd. This hedge has slipped away. This is a

source of great concern for people living here.

Perched high on the ridge the view from this

couple's home is stunning ` but the landslip has alreadx caused

It is a real worry. It is an inconvenience because we cannot

easily get to our house. We cannot get into town but it is a worry

because none of us are sure what is happening geologically.

The land moved and the cracks appeared

The county council says it needs to carry out further tests herd

before it can say how seriots is the damage to the land ` and

You have to really know what it is. There are rumours about unddrground

bunkers. Nobody can give me anything concrete so I'm making sure that

there's a clear inspection `nd data. And we will work away it.

But the delay is causing worries for people living here who want to sell

their homes and find right now find they can't.

People have gone back to thd estate agent and have said, we lovd the

house but it is just the ro`d. Nobody knows what is going on with

the road. There is a clear feeling here that

whatever the problem, whatever the solution. It isn't being progressed

fast enough. Cricket, and Gloucestershird have

had the best of the first d`y Will Tavare scored 135

against Derbyshire as festival is staged at

the picturesque college grotnds in Cheltenham, and the club hope around

30,000 people will come to watch the It is massive for us, it is

our biggest event of the ye`r. It is great to be able to t`ke

the cricket north of Bristol, We have been here for 142 ydars

so it is lovely taking cricket More importantly, it is also

about the money that brings into the club and how that generates

for future players and future Strange lights lit up the streets

of Bristol on Saturday as over a thousand women walked through the

night to raise money for ch`rity. The Midnight Walk is now

in its fifth year, with manx people taking part in memory of loved ones

who've been cared for by St. Appearing through the darkndss,

a strange and eerie sight. Hundreds of pink T`shirts and, wait,

flashing bunny ears. This is clearly an event

for throwing off Tonight, tonight,

we'll do this walk tonight. Tonight there will be no sldep

for us. The Midnight Walk takes

in all the sights of Bristol. It also raises thousands

of pounds for St. Peter's Hospice, which cares

for adults with terminal illnesses The atmosphere is brilliant to see

so many women together, with the same end result in mind,

to walk together in unity to raise At the warm`up beforehand,

people share their stories. We want to be able to

give something back. Lee`Anne's husband has termhnal

cancer and is cared for I do not know where we would be

right now if it was not for them. The event will raise

around ?100,000 for the charity It's a night to remember

for everyone there. Let us talk about whether

photographs. Please submit them to others at this address.

Tomorrow will be a dry day. There's a front crossing from west to east

which is distributing some patchy rain. Tomorrow is a pretty benign

story. By way of with a weak weather front coming back us tomorrow. For

the rest of this evening, m`ny of you are saying this patchy rain

which is moving into the Brhstol area and will continue east. The

second half of the night will try and cloudy. It should be mild.

Temperatures is no more than 15 or 16 Celsius. Quite quickly tomorrow

we will start to see things improving. That really sets the tone

for the rest of the day. Thdy will be bright and sunny spells `nd

little change to the afternoon. There will be a light to moderate

breeze with a high pollen count Temperatures will be up on today and

we could see 23 Celsius quite wildly. `` quite widely. Thdre could

be thunderstorms was the end of the week. It will become very w`rm

towards fusty and we will w`tch developments coming up from the

south. They'd still uncertahnty the detail but it could be the tail end

of Thursday or Friday. Thunderstorms. To emerge into the

South of England. It is all about the timing. There should be a lot of

cloud on Wednesday into fusty. There will be brighter spells as well It

we get through this part of the we get through this part of the

week. This will include the night. We will update you on that `nd it

should be an unsettled weekdnd as well.

We will keep an eye out for the Harbour Festival. That is coming up

this weekend. MUSIC: "Edward Scissorhands

Introduction" by Danny Elfman DRUMBEATS CONTINUE

WITH SWELLING, DRAMATIC MUSIC