A List of death in UK Immigration Detention Centre; Fury, Quest and Concerns!

Dr Anisur Rahman Anis:

A serious fury over the UK immigration detainees and their relatives which causing
various quests and concerns in the current times. The UK Home Office is under fire
about how a “gentle and polite” man lost his life to a killer with a history of violence
and mental health problems after officials locked them both up on the same wing in
immigration detention.
An inquest which opened on Monday, the 11 th March 2019, at west London coroner’s
court is to explore the role of the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, health
professionals and detention centre subcontractors in the death of Tarek Chowdhury,
64, from Bangladesh, who was killed by  Zana Assad Yusif , 33, from Iraq, at
Colnbrook immigration removal centre near Heathrow in December 2016.
 Yusif, who was well known to mental health services and had 16 previous convictions
for 33 different offences, beat Chowdhury to death just two days later after he
arrived in Colnbrook immigration centre in London. Chowdhury had lived in the UK
for 13 years and was detained by the Home Office as an overstayer when he attended
a regular reporting session. Yusif arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry at the age of
17.
Concerns have been raised about the management of detainees in Colnbrook at the
time of the killing and the quality of healthcare Chowdhury received immediately
after the attack.
Yusif pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility
because of his mental health problems at a trial at the Old Bailey in London in May
2017. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Forida Habib, Chowdhury’s cousin, said everyone who knew him described him as
soft, gentle and polite.
“When we heard he had been detained we never imagined that a couple of days later
he would be dead… We hope the truth will be told at the inquest and that lessons are
learned from this tragedy.”
The family’s solicitor, Bharine Kalsi, from Deighton Pierce Glynn, said: “This is a
shocking case that raises very serious questions about the state of immigration
detention system in this country. Mr Chowdhury’s family want answers to questions
about the adequacy of the care and management of detainees and of the medical care
provided.”
Killings in immigration detention are highly unusual and only one other case has
been reported since 2000, that of Olga Blaskevica, 29, from Latvia, who was killed by
her husband while both were in Harmondsworth detention centre near Heathrow in
May 2003.
There were 11 deaths in detention or immediately after release from detention
between December 2016 and December 2017, the highest number ever recorded.
More than half involved detainees taking their own lives.
A second death during that period is the subject of another inquest hearing which
began on Monday at Lincoln cathedral centre. Carlington Spencer, 38, from Jamaica,

died following a stroke at Morton Hall immigration removal centre in Lincolnshire
on 3 October 2017. Two friends of Spencer’s, Christopher Richards and Joseph
Nembhard, who are key witnesses to circumstances surrounding his death, were due
to board a charter flight to Jamaica last month but were granted an 11th-hour
reprieve so they could appear at the pre-inquest review hearing.
Richards has now been released from detention. Nembhard is currently detained in
Harmondsworth detention centre near Heathrow and was transported on Sunday
night by the Home Office to Morton Hall detention centre so that he could appear at
the inquest hearing.
Timothy Brennand, the senior coroner for Lincolnshire, said he would issue a
summons for Richards and Nembhard to appear in person at the full inquest into
Spencer’s death which he has set for 7 October. It is expected to last for two to three
weeks.
He said he did not want to “fetter” the Home Office but did want to ensure that
“justice was not only done but seen to be done”. The summons for the two men to
appear in court in October will represent a significant delay for the Home Office as
officials had hoped to deport both men on last month’s charter flight.
It emerged at the inquest that key CCTV evidence from Morton Hall detention centre
relating to the circumstances of Spencer’s death may have gone missing. The coroner
asked Natasha Barnes, representing the Ministry of Justice, if it was possible that the
CCTV footage was “lost, erased or is missing”. She replied “yes”. The coroner has
asked for a definitive answer about what has happened to the CCTV footage within 14
days.
In response to the two inquests, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The welfare of all
those in our care is of the utmost importance and we expect detainees to be treated
with dignity and respect.
“Any death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the
coroner and the independent prisons and probation ombudsman. Any
recommendations made following an investigation into a death are treated seriously
and action is taken to ensure they are implemented swiftly.”
You can’t imagine if you see the list of the people who have died here in the UK since
the last two and half decade.
 January 2018: Woman, name and country of origin unknown: Died of illness,
working in Great Britain without papers and too afraid of deportation to see a
doctor.
 November 2017: Arim Bakar, from Iraq: Committed suicide at Morton Hall detention
centre while on suicide watch
 September 2017: Man, name unknown, from China: Died at Dungavel detention
centre
 April 2017: Mohammed Hassan, aged 17, from Iraq: crushed when the ruck he had
been clinging to reversed over him in Banbury, Oxfordshire
 December 2016: Bai Ahmed Kabia, from Sierra Leone: Died in hospital of untreated
illness after being held in detention for two years at Morton Hall
 December 2016: Tarek Chowdhury, from Bangladesh: Died in hospital after assault
at Colbrook removal centre
 August 2016: Arkadiusz Jozwik, from Poland: Attacked in the street by teens who
heard him speaking Polish; died in hospital in Cambridge

 April 2016: Unknown individual: stow-away, crushed under a truck after reaching
Great Britain from Dunkirk
 April 2016: Mohammed Hussain, aged 18, from Kurdistan: stow-away, crushed
under a truck after reaching Great Britain from Dunkirk
 October 2015: Mohammad Akram, aged 22, from Afghanistan: Hit by van and then
car on M20 in Kent
 April 2015: Man, name not known, from India: Died of heart attack while detained
at Yarl’s Wood removal centre
 September 2014: Rubel Ahmed, 26, from Bangladesh: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in his cell at Morton Hall detention centre
 August 2014: Meet Singh Kapoor, from Afghanistan; body found among stow-aways
in a shipping container at Royal Tilbury Docks
 July 2014: Ahmed Osman, aged 17, from Eritrea: Stow-way, hit by a bus at a depot
in Bexwell which he had been hiding in since Calais
 February 2014: Two men, names unknown, from Albania: Reportedly drowned after
jumping off a North Sea ferry near Harwich, Essex, while being deported from Great
Britain
 March 2013: Khalid Shahzad, from Pakistan: Died after being released from
Colnbrook removal centre; left to travel alone despite poor health
 October 2012: Prince Kwabena Fosu, from Ghana: Died of unknown causes in
Hamondsworth removal centre
 August 2012: Man, name and nationality unknown: Stow-away, found in landing
bay of plane at Heathrow Airport after flight from South Africa
 July 2012: Bee Moyo, from Zimbabwe: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
Rotherham Park after his residence application was rejected
 July 2012: Bernard Hukwa, from Zimbabwe: Committed suicide in the River Thames,
while waiting for his asylum claim to be processed
 August 2011: Man, name and nationality unknown: Committed suicide, hanged
hiself in a shower at Campsfield House removal centre in London
 July 2011: Muhammad Shukat, from Pakistan: Died from a heart attack after medical
neglet in Colnbrook removal centre, Harmondsworth
 October 2010: Jimmy Mubenga, from Angola: Died of cardiac arrest on a deportation
flight from London
 July 2010: Osman Rasul, from Iraq: Jumped from a balcony in Nottingham after
failing to find a solicitor for his asylum appeal
 May 2010: Alan Rasoul Ahmed, from Iraq: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
Liverpoool while waiting on his asylum decision
 April 2010: Eliud Nguli Nyenze,from Kenya: Died after being denied medical
attention at Oakington immigration detention centre
 March 2010: Serge, Tatiana, and Stefan Serykh: Committed suicide, the family
jumped from the 15 th  floor of a building in Glasgow after their asylum claim was
rejected
 November 2009: Jianping Liu, from China: Jumped from a bridge near Heathrow
after police questioned her about her immigration status
 October 2009: Mohammed Iqbal Safi, aged 18, from Afghanistan: Humped in the
River Thames after police questioning in custody for immigration offences
 September 2009: Hassan Rahimi, a boy from Afghanistan: Committed suicide,
unaccompanied minor hanged himself in London out of fear of eviction
 August 2009: Jasraj Singh Kataria, 20 month-old child: Fell from third floor window
of poor accommodation in Glasgow provided by a government contractor

 September 2009: Frank Odama, from Ghana: Died after falling from the third floor
of a tower block raided by police and immigration officials in Essex
 September 2008: Man, name not known, from Zimbabwe: Died of tuberculosis
following medical neglect at Colnbrook removal centre
 September 2008: Baj Singh, from India: Crushed by a truck in Trent Vale after hiding
under the wheel
 August 2008: Mohammad Hussain, from Iraq: Died of cancer after medical neglect
in Lindholme removal centre
 May 2008: Lucy Kirma, nationality unknown: Died after a hunger strike in asylum
seekers’ accommodation in Great Britain after being denied asylum
 March 2008: Alfredo Castano-Fuentes, from Ghana: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in Petonville Prison after being sentenced for having a fake passport
 March 2008: Ama Sumani, from Ghana: Died from cancer in Ghana after being
deported from hospital in Great Britain after her visa expired
 February 2008: Barhan Ahmed, from Iraq: Committed suicide, set himself on fire in
Nelson after suffering depression when his asylum claim was rejected
 February 2008: Mohammed Ahmed, aged 18, from Iraq: Died from a heart condition
in hospital in Gloucestershire while waiting for clarification on his immigration
status
 December 2007: Abdullah ‘Joker’ Idris, aged 18, from Sudan: Committed suicide, by
hanging himself in his prison cell in Chelmsford while facing deportation
 November 2007: Avtar Singh, from India: Committed suicide while in Canterbury
Prison for holding a fake passport
 October 2007: Shaukat Ali, from Pakistan: Committed suicide, hanged himself at his
home in Birkby after his asylum claim was rejected
 October 2007: Individual unknown: Committed suicide, lay down under a train in
Great Britain after losing his job and having his asylum claim rejected
 September 2007: Solyman Rashed, from Iraq: Killed by a roadside bomb in Kirkuq,
Irq, after being deported from Great Britain after his asylum claim was rejected
 May 2007: Conrad Dixon, from Jamaica: Committed suicide, set fire to himself in
Stoke-on-Trent after his claim for asylum was rejected
 March 2007: Uddhav Bhandari, from Nepal: Committed suicide, set fire to himself in
Glasgow out of fear of deportation
 January 2007: Abass Usman, from Nigeria: Committed suicide, hanged himself in his
cell in HM Prison Preston after being accused of using false documents
 January 2007: Imran Yousaf, from Pakistan: Committed suicide, hanged himself at a
friend’s house after being denied a visa extension
 October 2006: Abdullah Ahmed Maroof, from Iraq: Committed suicide, set himself
on fire in his car in Stockton out of fear of being sent back to Iraq
 August 2006: Zamira Sadigova, from Azerbaijan: Jumped from her 11 th floor
apartment in Knightswood for fear of deporation
 August 2oo6: Pierre Palmaba Kabamba, from Congo: Jumped out of a fifth floor
window of an induction centre for asylum seeker sin Margate
 June 2006: Dejere Kebede-Tulu, from Ethiopia: Championship runner found dead in
his flat in London; very poor living conditions possible cause of death
 May 2006: Ese Eliabeth Alabi, from Nigeria: Died in Papworth Hospital, Cambridge,
after being denied a heart transplant due to her nationality. Mother of three.
 May 2006: Sivanathan Gowthaman, from Sri Lanka: Jumped under a train in
Bedhampton after losing his work permit and having his asylum claim rejected
 March 2006: Naser Al Shdaida, from Syria: Committed suicide, lay down under a
train in London out of fear of deportation after his asylum claim was rejected

 February 2006: Yadav Krishnakumar, child from Sri Lanka: Died of dehydration and
lack of medical aid in Fairfield Hospital
 February 2006: Taufik Al-Karazeh, from Syria: Commited suicide, hanged himself in
his home in Rochdale out of fear of deporation
 January 2006: Salehdeim Fahssahi, from Algeria: Died after falling from a balcony at
his home in Plumstead while attempting to escape the police
 January 2006: Bereket Yohannes, from Eritrea: Committed suicide, hanged himself
in Harmondsworth removal centre out of fear of deportation
 November 2005: Lizwane Ndlovu, from Zimbabwe: Died in Birmingham hospital
after release from Yarl’s Wood removal centre
 October 2005: Suleiman Dialo, from Guinea: Committed suicide, asylum seeker
suffering from depression
 September 2005: Manual Bravo, from Angola: Committed suicide, hanged himself at
Yarl’s Wood removal centre to prevent deportation of his son
 September 2005: Edmore Ngwenya, ages 26, from Zimbabw: Committed suicide,
found drowned at Salford Quays, Manchester
 July 2005: Babak Ahadi, from Iran: Committed suicide, set fire to himself at an
accommodation centre in Bristol out of fear of deportation
 July 2005: Nusrat Raza, aged 22, from Pakistan: Committed suicide, set herself on
fire in Bradford after losing asylum appeal
 June 2005: Ramazan Kumluca, aged 19, from Turkish Kurdistan: Committed suicide,
hanged himself at Campsfield House removal centre after his third asylum claim
was rejected
 April 2005: Limbaya Ndinga, from Congo: Committed suicide, hanged himself at his
home in Middleton after his asylum claim was rejected
 February 2005: Vincent Shem, from Ghana: Committed suicide, found hanged with
bed sheet in Wandsworth prison, facing deportation
 December 2004: Razgar Rassool Hamad, aged 24, from Iraq: Died of hypothermia in
West Bromwich, his body found outside abandoned factory
 December 2004: Hemen Mahmood Faqia, from Iraq: Drowned in the Tyne River
after agreeing to voluntary repatriation
 November 2004: Kenny Peter, aged 24, from Nigeria: Died in hospital from injuries
from possible suicide attempt, jumped from second floor of Colnbrook removal
centre
 October 2004: John Kanau Manana, aged 24, from Kenya: Committed suicide, found
hanged in his cell at Leicester prison
 October 2004: Majid Rafieei, from Iran: committed suicide, found hanged at home
in Sheffield after his asylum claim was rejected
 September 2004: Ceife Yimene, aged 24, from Ethiopia: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in emergency accommodation in Newcastle
 September 2004: Kalan Kawa Karim, from Iraqi Kurdistan: Died in hospital after a
racially motivated assault outside a pub in Swansea
 August 2004: Ako Mahmood Ahmed, aged 25, from Iraqi Kurdistan: Committed
suicide, jumped off a bridge in Coventry shopping centre after his asylum claim was
rejected
 July 2004: Tung Tran Quang, aged 23, from Vietnam: Committed suicide, hanged
himself near Dungavel detention centre after being denied an interpreter
 July 2004: Sergey Barnuyck, from Ukraine: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
Harmondsworth removal centre out of fear of deportation

 June 2004: Hussein Nasseri, aged 26, from Iran: Shot himself in his car in
Eastbourne after his asylum claim was rejected; feared execution in Iran for being
gay
 June 2004: Individual unknown: Committed suicide, hanged himself in refugee
housing facility in Great Britain, police refused to reveal details
 May 2004: Azrar Ayub, aged 24, nationality unknown: Died alone in psychiatric
custody in Prestwich hospital after being sedated and restrained by hospital staff
 May 2004: Zekria Ghulam Moham, from Afghanistan: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in his flat in Glasgow when faced with eviction
 May 2004: Kebba ‘Dobo’ Jobe, from Gambia: Died while being arrested in London
 May 2004: Kabeya Dimuka Bijoux, from Congo: Died in Haslar removal centre in
Gosport of injures sustained during arrest
 May 2004: Man, name and nationality unknown: Committed suicide, hanged himself
in Barlinnie, Scotland out of fear of deportation
 April 2004: Shahid Aziz, aged 25, from Asia: Reportedly killed by racist cellmate at
Armley prison in Leeds
 March 2004: Kingsley Williamson, from Jamaica: Committed suicide, hanged himself
in Norwich prison while awaiting deportation
 January 2004: Man, name unknown, from Iraq: Committed suicide, set himself on
fire in London out of fear of deportation
 November 2003: Liange He, aged 23, nationality unknown: Committed suicide,
hanged himself in Bedford prison
 November 2003: Paul Yorke, nationality unknown: Found dead in his cell in a police
station at Heathrow
 November 2003: Individual unknown, from Russia: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in Polmont Prison out of fear of deportation
 October 2003: Mohammed Bin Duhri, aged 20, from Palestine: Commited suicide,
hanged himself at maximum security prison in Belmarsh
 September 2003: Tema Kombe, from Uganda: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
the bathroom of a psychiatric ward at Heatherwood Hospital
 September 2003: Israfi Shriri, from Iran: Committed suicide, set himself on fire after
being denied necessary medication in Manchester
 September 2003: Vasilily Todchuk, aged 24, from Russia: Committed suicide,
hanged himself at a building site in Govan, Glasgow
 July 2003: Elmas Ozmico, from Turkey: Died due to septicaemia and medical
neglect at a hospital in Dover
 July 2003: Faizullah Ahmedi, aged 19, from Afghanistan: Committed suicide, hanged
himself at his home in Blackburn while awaiting a decision on his asylum claim
 May 2003: Olga Blaskevica, aged 29, from Latvia: Murdered in Harmondsworth
removal centre while awaiting deportation
 January 2003: Mikhail Bognarchuk, from Ukraine: Committed suicide, hanged
himself with his shoelaces in a bathroom at Haslar removal centre in Gosport
 December 2002: Sirous Khajehb, from Iran: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
Huddersfield after being wrongly informed that his asylum claim had been rejected
 November 2002: Boy aged 12, name not known, from Ghana: Stow-away, found
frozen at Heathrow airport in undercarriage of airplane from Ghana
 November 2002: Immanual Duah, aged 12, from Ghana: Stow-away, found frozen at
Heathrow airport in undercarriage of airplane from Ghana
 October 2002: Beverely Fowler, from Jamaica: Committed suicide, hanged herself in
Durham prison out of fear of deportation

 September 2002: Peiman Bahmani, aged 29, from Iran: Stabbed to death on the
street he lived on in Hendon
 May 2002: Shira Pir, aged 25, from Pakistan: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
Bristol after his asylum claim was rejected
 March 2002: Mohsen Amri, aged 27, from Iran: Committed suicide in Birmingham
after his asylum claim was rejected
 February 2002: Nariman Tahmasebi, aged 27, from Iran: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in prision in Lewes
 November 2001: Joseph Crentsil, from Ghana: Fell from the third floor of a building
in London as immigration officers attempted to detain him
 November 2001: Ricky Bishop, aged 25, nationality unknown: Died in police custody
in Brixton after being arrested and assaulted
 August 2001: Nasser Ahmed, from Eritrea: Committed suicide, hanged himself in
Neslon after his asylum claim was rejected
 June 2001: Mohammed Ayaz, from Pakistan: Stow-away, fell into a car park in
Richomnd from the wheel bay of an airplane travelling to Britain
 January 2001: Shokrolah Khaleghi, aged 27, from Iran: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in an asylum hostel in Leicester after his asylum claim was rejected
 December 2000: Saeed Alaei, aged 26, from Iran: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in Nelson, Lancashire, after his asylum claim was rejected
 November 2000: Individual unknown: Stow-away, run over in Dover by the truck he
had been hiding in
 March 2000: Zahid Mubarek, aged 19, from Pakistan: Fatally attacked in HM Prison
Feltham, two days before his release, after being placed in a cell with a known
violent racist
 January 2000: Robertus Gabys, from Lithuania: Committed suicide, hanged himself
in Harmonsworth removal centre out of fear of deportation
 October 1999: Individual name and nationality unknown: Stow-away, electrocuted
while trying to exit a freight train in Wembley
 August 1999: Man, name unknown, from Iraqi Kurdistan: Stow-away, crushed to
death in Dover while hanging onto the underside of a truck
 December 1998: Lin Yan-Guang, from China: Committed suicide in Brentwood,
asylum seeker suffering depression
 October 1998: Mehretab Kidane, from Eritrea: Committed suicide, hanged himself
on the day of his final asylum appeal hearing in London
 July 1998: Sofonias Alemseged, aged 22, from Eritrea: Committed suicide, hanged
himself in Brixton Prison
 April 1997: Peter San Pedro, aged 25, nationality unknown: Walked onto highway
after his vision was damaged during his in arrest in Kent by police who were
suspicious about his legal status in the UK
 January 1997: Herbert Gabbidon, from Jamaica: Died in police custody in Walsall as
efforts were being made to deport him
 March 1996: Ibrahim Sey, aged 29, from Gambia: Died after being teargassed while
handcuffed at a police station in London
 March 1996: Noorjahan Begum, from Bangladesh: Fell from the balcony of her
home while fleeing immigration officers
 October 1995: Djemal Fissa, aged 29, from Algeria: Died after 44 days on hunger
strike, tied to stretcher in an air ambulance deportation from Great Britain to
Algeria
 October 1995: Bayeh Arefayne, aged 19, from Ethiopia: Committed suicide, set
himself on fire in London after his asylum application was rejected

 July 1995: Muttavel Vasananthan, aged 25, from Sri Lanka: Committed suicide,
hanged himself in Norwich prision
 February 1995: Valentine Featherstone, from Latvia: Committed suicide in County
Durham out of fear of mother’s deportation
 January 1995: Zinaida Mitzofanova, from Latvia: Committed suicide in Country
Durham out of fear of deportation
 December 1994: Shiji Lapita, from Nigeria: Suffocated after being put in a headlock
during an arrest by London police
 October 1994: Joseph Nnalue, from Nigeria: Died after falling from the fourth floor
of a building in London during an immigration raid
 April 1994: Kwanele Eldah Siziba, aged 28, from Zimbabwe: Fell to her death in
Islington, London, while fleeling police out of fear of deportation
 1994: Lejla Ibrahimovic, from Bosnia: Committed suicide in Birmingham after the
Home Office refused to grant her husband a visa; had two children
 1993: Kimpua Nsimba, aged 24, from DRC: Committed suicide, found hanged in
detention centre five days after arriving in Great Britain.
Its the time to work together with community leaders, politicians , law makers and
especially for the BAME community to make significant, systemic changes in
migration-related policies, practices, and attitudes at local, regional, and national
levels for the safeguarding the detainees ensuring the maximum possible support
under the legal framework in all detention centres in UK bearing in mind with
humanitarian issues and concerns.
Writer: A Law Researcher, Radio Presenter, Political Analyst and Freelance Journalist.
Email: anisphd@yahoo.com. Date: 12/03/2019.