Yesterday evening, Thursday 7th Feb 2008, a young Kurdish asylum seeker, Mohammed Ahmadi, died at Gloucester Royal Hospital of heart failure.

Mohammed has been suffering from heart problems for a long time and was diagnosed as having a heart infection and valve malfunction on the 11th Jan 2008 after having been admitted to the cardiology unit.

The doctor kept him as an emergency case due to the severity of his condition. He was discharged a few days after because, according to Gloucester Royal Hospital the Home Office would not pay for his treatment for the reason that his status is still pending.

As a consequence of this, Mohammed's health seriously deteriorated. On Thursday 31st Jan 2008 he was re-admitted as an emergency but even then the needed treatment was not started until yesterday Wednesday 06 Feb 2008.

The treatment he was given should have been for the duration of 6 weeks and should have started on the 11th Jan, as the doctor who examined him on this date had wanted to.

The distressing news of Mohammed's death is an example of the terrible negligence of the authorities in this country, which leaves the lives of so many asylum seekers unprotected.

I have known Mohammed for nearly one year and I was with him today at the hospital a few hours before he sadly passed away.

Adil