The asylum seeker who died in a suspected suicide on the Bibby Stockholm barge last week has been named as Leonard Farruku.
Farruku, 27, an Albanian national, was first named in reports in the Telegraph. Several asylum seekers onboard the barge, which is moored in Portland, Dorset, told the Guardian the man had appeared to be in a state of distress shortly before he died, shouting and banging on the wall of his cabin.
According to the Telegraph, his sister Jola Dushku, 33, who lives in Lombardy in Italy, claimed he was being treated “like an animal” on the barge before his death.
Farruku is the second Albanian man to die in the space of a few weeks while in the care of the Home Office. Alfred Dosku, 37, died on 17 November after a suicide attempt. He spent a week in hospital in a critical condition before he died.
The Home Office has frequently cited what it describes as its “landmark joint communique” with Albania signed on 13 December 2022 to expedite removals of Albanian nationals it says are in the UK illegally back to their home country.
However, lawyers and human rights campaigners have warned that many Albanians who have claimed asylum in the UK for reasons including trafficking or blood feuds are in danger if forcibly returned to their home country.
Farruku’s death caused great distress among the 300 other asylum seekers accommodated on the barge.
The Home Office had previously declined to name Farruku and requests made by the Guardian to the Dorset coroner for information about the death had not been answered at the time of going to press.
The suspected suicide is the latest in a catalogue of problems the barge has faced since it was docked at Portland in July. It had to be evacuated in the summer days after the first group of asylum seekers went onboard after the discovery of the potentially deadly legionella bacteria in the water supply.
The Home Office has admitted that the vessel has cost taxpayers more than £22m so far.
A 23-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker tried to kill himself in a hotel car park in Essex in October after hearing that he was due to be transferred to the Bibby Stockholm.
According to the Telegraph, Farruku arrived in the UK on a small boat in August last year.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with everyone affected. The welfare of all those in our care is of the utmost importance, and we take our responsibility for their wellbeing incredibly seriously.
“This will now be investigated by the police and coroner. It is right that the facts and circumstances surrounding this death are established.”
Asylum seekers on the barge told the Guardian they were becoming increasingly desperate about their living conditions there. They said the security onboard requires them to go through airport-style security and body searches even if they want to step outside for a cigarette, and report a deterioration in the quality of food and shortages for those at the end of the queue.
“The boat is like a prison and more and more things are going wrong,” said one asylum seeker.
Deborah Coles, the director of the charity Inquest, which investigates state-related deaths, said: “This was a tragic death forewarned. It is vital that it is investigated by an independent body and not by the government whose own policy it was to place asylum seekers there.
“Given reports that conditions on the barge are prison-like, it would be reasonable to expect the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, who has the expertise in investigating deaths in detention, to ensure the wide ranging scrutiny this case requires.”
