Immigration detainee beats cellmate to death with bare hands in removal centre

Iraqi national Zana Yusif pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of “frail” 64-year-old Bangladeshi Tarek Chowdhury

Zana Yousif admitted manslaughter at the Old Bailey (Metropolitan Police)

A man beat a fellow detainee at an immigration detention centre to death with his bare hands, shortly before he was due to be deported.

Iraqi national Zana Yusif, 31, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of “frail” 64-year-old Bangladeshi Tarek Chowdhury at London's Old Bailey.

The pair were being held at the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in west London when Yusif launched an apparently unprovoked attack on the older man after he asked for a lighter.

Police officers and paramedics were called to the centre after Mr Chowdhury was found unconscious on the bottom bunk of a cell on 1 December last year. He was rushed to a west London hospital but died later that day.

Enquiries revealed that Mr Chowdhury had walked into cell 5, which was occupied by two other detainees.

A few minutes later, Yusif, who was not wearing any trousers, followed Mr Chowdhury into the cell.

Shortly afterwards, the other two detainees fled the cell in a panic and flagged down a member of staff, who discovered the victim lying injured, having been beaten around the head.

Witnesses told officers Mr Chowdhury had simply asked for a light when Yusif launched the vicious attack.

The killer’s hands were left reddened and injured and he was immediately arrested on suspicion of murder and charged the following day.

The victim’s family was in court to hear Kurdish-speaking Yusif deny murder but admit manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility..

The prosecution accepted that he had an “abnormality of the mind” when he carried out the attack.

The court heard that two psychiatric evaluations had been carried out on Yusif who had previously served short spells in custody.

“This was a vicious unprovoked attack on Mr Chowdhury that ultimately cost him his life. I am pleased that Yusif has finally taken responsibility for his actions,” said Detective Inspector James Stevenson, the investigating officer from the Homicide and Major Crime Command of London's Metropolitan Police.

Yusif will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 21 June.

Colnbrook is close to Heathrow Airport and detains those who are facing deportation.

The high security centre accommodates up to 396 men and 27 women and is operated by Mitie Care and Custody, which took over the contract from Serco in 2014.

A year of detention in Colnbrook, where many people are held for long periods of time while they fight deportation, costs over £30,000.

Justice Secretary Liz Truss recently announced proposals to introduce a fast-track system to process the deportation of detained asylum seekers and ex-offenders who have served prison sentences in the UK,

Neither the Home Office nor Colnbrook responded to requests for information as to why Yusif and Mr Chowdhury were facing deportation and how long they had been held at the centre.