UK Bangladeshis New Report
2205 GMT Sunday 07 September 2014

Fleet Street and the "provincial" English Press and the BBC have all stayed silent on this.
Except the Guardian which has managed to post the following piece after 1800 GMT today Sunday 07 September 2014

News
UK news
Immigration and asylum
Call for inquiry into death at Morton Hall immigration detention centre
Family say they were told Rubel Ahmed had killed himself, but fellow detainees say he had been complaining of chest pains
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Diane Taylor
The Guardian, Sunday 7 September 2014 19.22 BST

Rubel Ahmed's family say they only heard about his death after a fellow detainee at Morton Hall contacted his solicitor several hours later
The family of a 26-year-old man who died at an immigration detention centre have called for an urgent independent inquiry saying they have concerns about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Rubel Ahmed, from Bangladesh, died on Friday night at Morton Hall in Lincolnshire. Fellow detainees say he had been complaining of chest pains for more than an hour but had not received the help he needed. The family say the Home Office subsequently told them he had killed himself.

Ahmed's cousin Ajmal Ali, who lives in Britain, said the family, many of whom live in Bangladesh, were "shocked and devastated" by his death.

"Rubel was an incredibly shy, quiet and reserved person, he always helped everyone. He was a very good hearted young man and it was a pleasure and an honour to know him. Most of his family live in Bangladesh and it is an absolutely devastating loss for all of them."

He said the family had only heard about the death after a fellow detainee at Morton Hall contacted Ahmed's solicitor several hours later on Saturday morning. "When we found out what had happened we were frantically phoning round. The detention centre said they couldn't tell us anything and told us to call the Home Office press office but that was closed so we had to leave a message. Everyone was so unhelpful. The Home Office have told us that he committed suicide but we don't believe he would have taken his own life. He was looking forward to seeing family members in a few days' time."

Several detainees on the same wing as Ahmed reported he had been complaining of chest pains since about 9.30pm on Friday. A spokeswoman for East Midlands ambulance service NHS trust said it received a call from Morton Hall just after 11.30pm on Friday reporting a patient who was not breathing. "We dispatched a fast-response vehicle and double-crewed ambulance. The patient was pronounced dead at the scene."

Akhter Sohel, 26, Ahmed's friend and fellow detainee, said: "Our doors had been locked for the night but Rubel kept complaining of chest pains, and was banging and kicking the door asking for help for the pains. He was banging and kicking the door for more than an hour. I don't think they helped him because he continued banging and kicking the door for a long time. He was a lovely guy, very friendly and chatty. I'm surprised to hear he killed himself."

Sohel said police were called after the death but denied reports that there had been a disturbance at the centre.

Ahmed's solicitor, Sarwar Khan, criticised the Home Office for failing to notify the family more quickly and backed calls for an independent investigation. "I had made a recent bail application for Rubel so I know that the Home Office had all the next of kin details on the file," he said. "When I first spoke to the Home Office's command and control team yesterday they didn't want to give me any information at all … We really need some answers and we're calling for an independent inquiry into what happened. When I last spoke to Rubel everything was fine. I was in regular touch with him and he was at no apparent risk of self-harm and appeared to be in good health."

In a statement the immigration minister James Brokenshire said: "Our thoughts are with the family at this very sad time. Deaths in removal centres are rare but tragic events. We take our responsibilities towards detainees' health and welfare extremely seriously. As is the case with any death in detention a full investigation has been launched."

A Home Office spokesperson said it was its policy to contact the next of kin as soon as possible, adding: "The Home Office family liaison officer is in contact with Mr Ahmed's family and an investigation will now take place."