The family of a Cambridge make-up artist who was killed in a hit-and-run in Qatar are left with "no clear picture" as to what happened to their daughter an inquest heard. More than three years later the family who said it was "like a jigsaw" trying to piece everything together are still awaiting answers after they received limited information from Qatari authorities.
Rafaelle Tsakanika from Cambridge died after being involved in a car crash near Doha, Qatar on March 30, 2019. The 21-year-old also known as Raffy died as a result of head and trauma injuries the inquest heard.
She had been a passenger in a Toyota Land Cruiser with her 20-year-old friend when a car hit them at high speed. Witnesses said her Mubarak Al Hajri, 46, was driving "recklessly" and racing at 119mph before the crash. The then 46-year-old was convicted in Qatari courts of causing Ms Tsakanika’s death, causing serious injuries to her friend, driving in a way that endangered lives, fleeing the scene of an accident, and speeding.
He was sentenced to two months in prison and ordered to pay compensation to Ms Tsakanika’s family. The family said when looking for answers into Ms Tsakanika's death there was "inconsistency of the information given" in Qatar and said it's been "like a jigsaw, piecing everything together as we go". The inquest on November 21, held at Lawrence Court in Huntingdon heard various evidence and eyewitness accounts of the fatal incident.
Inquest:
I attended this inquest on November 21, 2022, held at Lawrence Court in Huntingdon while working at Cambridgeshire Live as a news reporter. I had previously covered the death of Rafaelle Tsakanika who was from Cambridge, so when the inquest date was confirmed, it was of great interest for us to attend for a follow up to the original story. This allowed our readers to see the development in the story and the importance of us, as a Cambridgeshire based publication, to follow up a story that was then shared wider.
After my coverage of the inquest was published on Cambridgeshire, the Mirror also published the article on their website. You can see the story here. This allowed for a greater readership to share the impact of this story, along with the outcome of the inquest, which had some important findings. This inquest was adjourned while the coroner considered his conclusion.
A second inquest took place on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at Peterborough Town Hall which I made sure to attend. I had made a note that there would be a second inquest, following my coverage of the first, so kept an eye out for when the date was released for the next inquest.
I attended the second inquest where the coroner apologised to Rafaelle’s parents for not being able to provide "all of the answers". This story can be seen here.
This was another important follow-up to the original story, which helped the story progress and unfold even further. The outcome of the second inquest left the family seeking for help in a bid to find answers into the death of Rafaelle that took place in Qatar. This led to further coverage from Cambridgeshire Live, which can be seen below. I was unable to cover more of the story as I had been off at the time, but as a team, it was great that we could continue the coverage, which went wider then local news.
There were national news outlets in attendance for Rafaelle’s inquests meaning it was vital that we covered it from a local perspective and ensured this was reflected in our headlines.
After the second inquest, the family made a statement outside the Peterborough Town Hall to the press, including myself. I made sure to film parts of this to be used on the Cambridgeshire Live website while taking care not to be intrusive. I also took some photos, again with care and consideration, so we had some visual elements to add into our coverage.
My pre-inquest coverage:
My inquest coverage:
Nov 21, 2022 'No clear picture' for Cambs family over 3 years after daughter is killed in hit-and-run inquest hears
Dec 7, 2022 Coroner criticises 'lack of information' from Qatar following death of Cambs make-up artist
Further Cambridgeshire Live coverage from other reporters:
legal considerations:
Inquests are held in public, meaning I had the right, as the press, to attend the inquests. As inquests are court proceedings we as the press are protected under absolute privilege from any defamation, as long as our reporting is fair, accurate and published contemporaneously, which I ensured my reporting was. I made notes throughout the inquests and ensured all my quotes were credited to the right person. I reported fairly on the inquest, with accurate quotes from the family members and I explained the coroner’s findings correctly. We also made sure to publish the reports on Cambridgeshire Live on the same day I had attended the inquests.
Non-contemporaneous reports are protected by qualified privilege, if the requirements of that defence are met and the inquest is held in public, however we published both our reports contemporaneously. Qualified privilege is a defence against statements when reporting public events, including inquests. The press are protected under this as long as the report is fair and accurate, and published without malice.
Coroners can make order restricting media reports of inquests, however, for both inquests, there were no restrictions in place so I was free to report the inquest in full.
IPSO considerations:
When it came to the ethical side of reporting these inquests, I made sure to handle it with sympathy and discretion, with the publication handled sensitively, as not to be an intrusion into grief or shock (clause 4) to the family. Under IPSO, I also made sure that my reporting was accurate (clause 1) from what I heard in the inquests. I also reported with an open and transparent view, while documenting the coroner’s findings that would in the public interest. Due to the nature of this article, Rafaelle’s family were also entitled to respect of their private and family life (clause 2), therefore I made sure there was no intrusion.