My cousin Sheku Bayoh was detained in police custody in Kircaldy, near Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday 3 May. He did not leave police custody alive.

Following is a statement from the Bayoh family:

"Our son and brother Sheku Ahmed Tejan Bayoh was only 31 years old when he was suddenly and cruelly taken from us. His mother and three sisters are devastated and still in shock. He has also left 2 small sons aged 3 and 3 months and a loving partner. Their loss along with ours is great.

‘Shek’ as he was fondly known was a warm friendly and gentle person. Just a few hours earlier he was at his niece’s birthday party and sending his big sister a text message to wish her Happy Birthday. She didn’t know that would also be the last time she would hear from him.

We still do not know how Shek died. All we know is that he was taken into police custody in the early hours of Sunday morning. Now he is dead . His family and friends want to know how and why. We are disappointed, hurt and upset that the police refuse to give us clear information of what occurred. We need Shek to rest and then his family can also begin to heal. We cannot do this until the truth is known.

No family ever thinks that this will happen to them. We cannot have Shek back in our lives. Now that he is gone all we want now is to know the truth and to have justice for Shek. We, his family and friends, everyone who loved him deserves that.

We all have grave concerns at the role of Police Scotland and are asking the Lord Advocate and the PIRC to help us get the truth.

In demanding justice for Shek, we hope that justice can also be had for other families who have suffered in similar ways. Our strength is the love of his family and friends. We will continue to fight for justice and the truth."

The police in their statement during the press conference (Thursday 14 May) were adamant ‘we have nothing to apologise for’. Yet we still remain in the dark about what happened to Shek.