The family of an asylum seeker who died on the Bibby Stockholm say a “double tragedy” has hit them as they cannot afford to bring his body back to his native Albania.
Leonard Farruku, 27, was found unresponsive on board the accommodation vessel at Portland Port, Dorset, on December 12.
A post-mortem examination found that he had died from “compression of the neck” caused by “suspension by ligature”, an inquest heard.
The hearing last month was also told there were no suspicious circumstances. The case was adjourned for a full hearing to be held at a later date.
Mr Farruku’s family have now set up a GoFundMe page online to raise £10,000 to repatriate his body, which is still in a Dorset morgue.
Jola Dushku, his sister, said: “It was a tragedy we lost a brother in such circumstances, but we are now facing a double tragedy with not being able to have his body back home to have the funeral ceremony.
“We don’t know how long it will take for the money to be raised.”
She added in a statement on the fundraising page: “Our brother Leonard Farruku’s life ended unimaginably for all of us while in the UK.
“As it has been reported widely in the UK media, Leonard died inside the Bibby Stockholm barge where the Home Office is accommodating people.
“An inquest has been opened into the circumstances of his death…We kindly ask for help to raise funds to have Leonard’s body returned from the UK back home to Albania to rest in peace.
“With thanks and appreciation – Jola, Leonard’s sister.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly previously said that Mr Farruku’s sudden death would be “fully” investigated.
It has been reported that he paid €4,000 to cross the English Channel in a small boat to arrive in the country.
Ms Dushku, 33, who lives in Lombardy in Italy, said: “When I spoke with him last time, he told me that the conditions in that boat were not bad but they were treated by the guards like animals.”
An impact assessment, which found the policy of housing asylum seekers on the barge discriminated on the grounds of age and sex, was deleted from the Government’s website last month, two days after being published.
A note on the website later stated that the impact assessment was “published in error”.
Assessors reached the conclusion that the policy of housing up to 500 single men on the Bibby Stockholm was “directly discriminating in relation to age (and) sex” because the barge was only suitable for men aged 18 to 65.
The assessment argued that the greater need to house male asylum seekers within that age range in accommodation other than hotels justified discriminating on the grounds of age and sex.
- Leonardo Farruku’s fundraiser can be found here
