The sister of an asylum seeker who died aboard the Bibby Stockholm barge has said the family are living a “double tragedy” as they are unable to afford to bring his body back to his native Albania.
Leonard Farruku was found unresponsive on board the accommodation vessel at Portland Port, Dorset, on December 12.
An inquest opened by Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin heard that a post-mortem examination found he had died from “compression of the neck” caused by “suspension by ligature”.
The hearing last month was told there were no suspicious circumstances and the case was adjourned for a full hearing to be held at a later date.
Mr Farruku’s family have now set up a GoFundMe page to raise £10,000 to repatriate the 27-year-old’s body, which remains in a Dorset morgue. By Monday afternoon, the campaign had raised £550.
His sister, Jola Dushku, told the PA news agency through a friend: “It was a tragedy we lost a brother in such circumstances but we are now facing a double tragedy with not being able to have his body back home to have the funeral ceremony.
“We don’t know how long it will take for the money to be raised.”
She added in a statement on the fundraising page: “Our brother Leonard Farruku’s life ended unimaginably for all of us while in the UK.
“As it has been reported widely in the UK media, Leonard died inside the Bibby Stockholm barge where the Home Office is accommodating people.
“An inquest has been opened into the circumstances of his death. Leonard’s body has been in the Dorset morgue since his death on December 12 2023.
“We kindly ask for help to raise funds to have Leonard’s body returned from the UK back home to Albania to rest in peace.
“With thanks and appreciation. Jola, Leonard’s sister.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly previously said that Mr Farruku’s sudden death would be “fully” investigated.
The Daily Telegraph, which first reported the deceased’s name, has stated that he paid 4,000 euros to cross the English Channel in a small boat to arrive in the country.
It was a tragedy we lost a brother in such circumstances but we are now facing a double tragedy with not being able to have his body back home to have the funeral ceremony
Ms Dushku, 33, who lives in Lombardy in Italy, told the newspaper: “When I spoke with him last time, he told me that the conditions in that boat were not bad but they were treated by the guards like animals.”
An impact assessment, which found the policy of housing asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge discriminated on the grounds of age and sex, was deleted from the Government’s website last month, two days after being published.
A note on the website said the impact assessment was “published in error”.
The assessment found that the policy of housing up to 500 single men on the barge was “directly discriminating in relation to age (and) sex” because the barge was only suitable for men aged 18 to 65.
The assessment argued that the greater need to house male asylum seekers within that age range in accommodation other than hotels justified discriminating on the grounds of age and sex.
The fundraising appeal can be found here.
