1 week Ago
The circumstances of the death of a French immigrant at a detention centre appear unnatural, an inquest heard. French national Theophile Kaliviotis, 26, was found dead by staff at the Brook House immigration removal centre, near Gatwick, where he was awaiting deportation, on October 27. At the opening of his inquest in Brighton , coroner’s court assistant Ken Jewell said that “despite best efforts he was not able to be resuscitated”.
Following a formal identification by coroner’s officer Eloise Palfrey and a post mortem examination, his cause of death remained unidentified. Area Coroner for Brighton and West Sussex Joe Turner said: “Interested parties in this inquest will be Brook House, Sussex Police, the Home Office, Practice Plus Group, the Prison Ombudsman, family member Vassiliki Kaylunojou and Serco. “Given the medical cause of death remains unascertained, I have reason to believe the circumstances of his death are unnatural.
” READ MORE: Man dies at Brook House immigration removal centre Another hearing is scheduled for May next year. At the time of his death The Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, a charity which supports detainees at Brook House, said: “On the death of a man in detention we send heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and everyone who knew and loved him. “Brook House is prison architecture and no one should take their last breath there.
We mourn that a young man died before he could be free.” Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “We despair at reports that yet another person has died in the Brook House detention centre. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and the fellow detainees affected by this tragedy too.
“Brook House has gained notoriety for violence, racism and abuse. What part this may have had in this man’s death we do not yet know, but these degradations derive from a wider failure to make a system respect human dignity and rights. READ MORE: Detainees mistreated in ‘prison-like’ conditions, Brook House Inquiry finds “Tragic incidents such as this emphasise why the government must bring humanity to the immigration system as much as any other policy area – people’s lives depend on it.
" In November last year, a 37-year-old Albanian man died after attempting suicide in November 2023 while he was being detained at Brook House. An inquiry in 2023 found there had been 19 incidents of mistreatment against detainees at Brook House over a five-month period in 2017. The inquiry concluded migrants had been subjected to abuse.
The government has been criticised over its reaction to the inquiry, with chairwoman Kate Eves – appointed by the then-Conservative government to lead the probe – calling in September for a “reset” on an “inadequate” government response to her recommendations..
