Medical Justice statement regarding criminal charges being dropped regarding the death of Prince Fosu at Harmondsworth IRC in 2012.

A medical Justice spokesperson said : “A naked body found dead on the concrete floor of a cell in an immigration removal centre – one of the many deaths occurring in immigration detention that is avoidable as immigration detention is optional.
 
Criminal charges against the private companies running the immigration removal centre have been dropped, as reported in the Guardian’s 30th October 2018 “CPS criticised as charges dropped over death of man in UK detention camp”. It is profoundly disturbing that no criminal prosecution has taken place regarding a death in immigration detention, especially given the increasing rate of detainee deaths.
 
Medical Justice sends volunteer doctors to visit immigration detainees to document scars of torture and challenge instances of medical mistreatment. The continued detention of a number of our clients has been found by the High Court to have amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. Inquests have found neglect contributing to deaths in immigration detention.
 
As documented in our report “Death in Immigration Detention”, year after year investigations into deaths in immigration detention reveal ongoing systemic healthcare failings. We fear that as long as these failings continue to go unaddressed there will be more deaths. 
 
Immigration removal centres should be closed down before another person dies.”