When he arrived in the UK, Iranian national Shayan Zal Dehnavi was placed in a Home Office-provided hotel in Leicester while he waited to be told if he could stay in Britain. The conditions, according to another man on his floor, were “miserable”.
Soon after arriving, Shayan was stabbed in an apparently random attack, and the 24-year-old suffered a mental health crisis. Officials said he was directed to a GP and offered “additional support” but, despite guidance suggesting that people in Shayan’s situation should be moved into better accommodation as quickly as possible, he was kept in the hotel. Two months later, in May 2020, Shayan killed himself.
