THE family of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was gunned down by police in 2005, said yesterday they will take the government to the European Court of Human Rights over the failure to prosecute the officers involved.

The Brazilian electrician was killed by police in a case of mistaken identity 10 years ago next month, amid a terror scare in London following the July 7 Tube and bus bombings.

His family argue that the failure to bring any criminal prosecutions against Metropolitan Police officers responsible for the killing of Mr de Menezes on July 22 2005 raises significant questions about how the state and its agents are held to account for killing its citizens.

Mr de Menezes was shot dead by firearms officers in Stockwell Tube station in south London, after he was misidentified as one of those responsible for a failed bomb attack the previous day.

It was initially claimed that after the officers boarded the train on which Mr de Menezes was sitting, they had challenged him, though later reports indicated that this was not done.

The force’s initial suggestion that the suspect’s behaviour and manner of dress were suspicious also proved false.

A case brought by the de Menezes family will be heard before the grand chamber of the European court in Strasbourg next Wednesday.

Justice campaign group Inquest co-director Deborah Coles, who will be attending the hearing in Strasbourg alongside the family and their lawyers, said: “This case in the European Court of Human Rights shines a spotlight on the issue of police accountability and the inequality and injustice that prevails.

“A democratic society needs a criminal justice system that ensures scrutiny and accountability of the police and ensures that prosecutions for human rights violations are brought in appropriate cases. “Public confidence in the police is fundamental to democratic policing and must not be undermined by any suggestion that the rule of law does not apply equally to all citizens, including those in uniform.”

Prosecutions are extremely rare after a death in custody, even where an inquest jury has returned a finding of unlawful killing.

There has never been a successful prosecution for manslaughter or murder in any case in Britain, even where an inquest jury has returned a finding of “unlawful killing.” Since 1990, there have been 995 deaths in police custody or following police contact and 55 fatal shootings by police officers.