UK opens inquiry into detainee death

British authorities have opened an investigation into the death of a detained man awaiting deportation, the second fatal incident in a UK immigration removal center this year, Press TV reports.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said in a statement that a full investigation has been launched into the death of Rubel Ahmed while being detained at Morton Hall in Lincolnshire.

Ahmed died last week after complaining to fellow detainees of chest pains from over an hour. According to reports, ambulance services received a call from the removal center first two hours after Ahmed began complaining of pain.

The death sparked unrest at the detention center, run by the prison service on behalf of the UK Border Agency, with some 300 detainees refusing to obey orders. Riot police were called in to restore order at the center.

In addition, protesters gathered in front of the Home Office to demand more rights and protection for those seeking refuge in Britain.

Antonia Bright, from Movement for Justice, said the demonstration called for the end of detentions, describing them as “abusive.”

Bright added that the detainees held at these “immigration prisons” receive little or no real health care as they are treated as “criminals or liars.”

According to Bright, the detainees who become ill are either “ignored or told to take paracetamol (acetaminophen) and go away” and not taken seriously as the system is “racist.”

Ahmed was the second person to die inside such a facility this year, following the death of 40-year-old Christine Case at the Yarl’s Wood immigration removal center in Bedfordshire in March.

CAH/HJL/HRB