The mother of innocent Jean Charles de Menezes says she will never forget the “many lies told” by Scotland Yard when officers shot him dead, as she thanked Londoners for 20 years of unwavering support.
Maria de Menezes, 80, told the Standard she often replays the painful aftermath of July 22, 2005 in her sleep and hopes God grants a final wish to “see” her son again in Heaven.
The 27-year-old Brazilian electrician was mistaken at Stockwell Underground station for a would-be 21/7 suicide bomber whose device failed to explode the day before.
Two firearms officers ran onto a Northern Line train, pinned Mr de Menezes to his seat and shot him seven times in the head.
It happened two weeks after the 7/7 London bombings which killed 52 people.
On Tuesday, Mr de Menezes’s family will hold a vigil outside the south London Tube station on 20th anniversary of his death.
Speaking through a translator from her rural hometown in Gonzaga, Brazil, Mrs de Menezes said the Met’s delay in telling the public they had killed the wrong man led many to believe he was not entirely innocent.
It was inaccurately claimed he jumped over ticket barriers while wearing a bulky jacket, run down an escalator and had been agressive to police.
A whistleblower at the police complaints watchdog leaked the truth to ITV News but was sacked and later arrested.
“When I first came to London, all of these lies were told about how he jumped the barriers and there was no CCTV in the underground,” she said.
“It was comforting when the truth came out. Some justice was proved. I felt a bit of peace when all the lies were revealed. When they killed my son, they told a lot of lies. I knew. Only we mothers know our own children. Jean Charles was similar to me. He hated lies and never did anything wrong.”
Mrs de Menezes dreads every July 22, adding despite the passage of time: “It’s still very painful.
“It’s been 20 years but nothing has changed with my heart.
“Every year, we wait for this date when everything comes back to us. We will never be the same. Life will never be the same like it was before.
“I talk to God a lot and he gives me strength. I have to thank him for this because I turned 80 recently and I’m surviving and resisting. I will never forget. God gives me patience, resilience and humility.”
Mrs de Menezes, husband Matosinhos, 85, and Jean Charles’s older brother Giovani da Silva, 53, believe the Met still has questions to answer - but hold no grudges towards the marksmen or commanders who made the fatal decision.
No officers were ever prosecuted. However, the force was fined £175,000 with £385,000 costs for breaching health and safety laws.
Dame Cressida Dick, who led the bunged operation, became Commissioner in 2017 and resigned in 2022.
Then-Yard chief Lord Ian Blair went before TV cameras - despite being advised not to - after Mr de Menezes’s death.
When questioned by reporters, he declared: “The information I have available is that this shooting is directly linked to the ongoing and expanding anti-terrorist operation. Any death is deeply regrettable. I understand the man was challenged and refused to obey.” Lord Blair died aged 72 on July 9.
A new Disney+ drama starring Line of Duty’s Daniel Mays and Being Human’s Russell Tovey explores police investigations in the days following the July 7 attacks and leads up to Mr de Menezes’ misidentification.
Mrs de Menezes is overwhelmed by the support received in the capital where a colourful memorial and mosaic bearing the word “innocent” remains outside the Tube station to this day.
“We cannot complain,” she says. “Londoners always believed in the innocence of my son. I know it was important.
“It was painful to talk about certain things but I know if this hadn’t happened, I would be in better physical health than I am. So I’m grateful to everyone and the campaign team.”
Mrs de Menezes added: “If Jean Charles was here today, he would be laughing and smiling. That’s the kind of person he was. He would be hugging and kissing me - he was very affectionate. Wherever he is, he will be happy. He would be very proud of his mother, father and brother for fighting for justice.
“I believe there is another life after death. Our bodies, souls and spirits will still be alive. God will give us the opportunity to meet with Jean Charles again and he’ll get to see his mother.
“I don’t know how much strength I have. I’m 80. I don’t know how long I can go on for. I will continue to fight. I would like more support because we have a very hard life.”
At the time of her son’s funeral, the Met sent a senior officer to Brazil with an offer of £15,000 to help pay for expenses. Relatives sent him away saying they wanted justice, not money.
Mrs de Menezes said now: “The money that was offered was very little because of what happened to Jean Charles.”
In 2016, Mr de Menezes’s family lost a human rights challenge over the decision not to charge any police officer with killing him.
Mr de Menezes shared a flat with cousins in Tulse Hill which was part of the same block as one occupied by Hussain Osman, who tried to repeat the devastation of the July 7 attacks in London.
Police found Osman’s gym card on the train he tried to blow up at Shepherd’s Bush and put the address under surveillance in an operation that proved disastrous when the wrong man was followed as he left home.
Mrs de Menezes said when she heard the terrible news “I sort of died then too”, adding: “I was not expecting that moment. It was terrible and then I started to shake.”
Within days of Mr de Menezes’ death, the real 21/7 suspects had been arrested.
Two years later, Osman, 28, alongside Ramzi Mohammed, 25, Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29, and Yasin Hassan Omar, 26, were found guilty of conspiracy to murder. Each was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 40 years.
In April, a Met spokesman said: “The shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is a matter of very deep regret to the Metropolitan Police Service.
“Our thoughts remain with his family and we reiterate our apology to them.
“The circumstances around his death, which came at a time of unprecedented terrorist threat to London, have been subject to numerous public inquiries, including two separate reports by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (now the IOPC), which examined all of the evidence surrounding his death and the actions of officers in the aftermath.
“The recommendations made by the IPCC were implemented immediately following these reports, and in the years since this tragic incident, we continue to proactively improve our processes and policies wherever possible to keep our communities safe.
“No officer sets out on duty intent on ending a life. Our sole purpose is the complete opposite – the protection and preservation of life – and we have taken extensive action to address the causes of this tragedy.”
:: Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is released on Disney+
