Iraqi man admits beating fellow immigration detainee to death
Zana Yusif beat Tarek Chowdhury to death at Colnbrook Immigration Centre, where they were waiting to be deported, in December.
Monday 8 May 2017 15:52, UK
A mentally ill Iraqi man has admitted manslaughter after beating to death a fellow detainee at an immigration facility.
Zana Yusif, 32, killed 64-year-old Bangladeshi Tarek Chowdhury in a cell at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre on 1 December.
Both men were being held there while waiting to be deported.
Yusif, who speaks Kurdish and used a translator in court, denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey.
Prosecutors accepted the plea as Yusif has a "psychiatric history". Two psychiatric reports concluded he was suffering from an "abnormality of the mind" at the time.
The court heard the defendant asked Mr Chowdhury for a lighter when both were in a cell with two other people.
Yusif, who was not wearing any trousers, then grabbed Mr Chowdhury, shook him and repeatedly punched him in the head before leaving the room with another man.
The "panicked" remaining detainee then alerted a member of staff who discovered Mr Chowdhury fatally hurt, police said.
Yusif, whose hands were reddened and injured, was arrested on suspicion of murder and charged the following day.
Mr Chowdhury, who was described as "frail", was pronounced dead at hospital.
He had been living in the UK for more than 10 years but was being removed for not having the correct documents. His family was in court throughout the short hearing.
Two other men were arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the attack, but later released.
Colnbrook, which is located near Heathrow Airport, west London, and managed by Home Office subcontractors Mitie Care and Custody, opened in September 2004.
The centre detains people subject to immigration control and has the capacity to hold up to 396 men and 27 women.
Reports claim that while it is meant to be a short-term holding facility, in practice some detainees spend years at the site, often in legal limbo as complex cases progress.
In 2013, a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons found significant concerns, including "cramped and dirty" conditions and "widespread anxiety" among detainees.
Yusif was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned until 21 June for sentencing.