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In Memory of Bereket Yohannes born Eritrea 1980
Did in Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre Thursday 19th January 2006

Bereket Yohannes from Eritrea became the seventh asylum seeker to die at his own hands whilst incarcerated in a UK detention centre. Like the others Manuel Bravo, Kenny Peter, Tran Quang Tung, *Sergey Barnuyck, Mikhail Bognarchuk, and Robertas Grabys, the prospect of removal became all too much for him and death became preferable to deportation.

Detainees at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre told NCADC that 26-year-old fellow detainee Bereket Yohannes was found hanged in the showers at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre at 5.25pm on the afternoon of Thursday the 19th January 2006. Bereket had only been in Harmondsworth a few weeks; he was terrified of being deported to Eritrea, had found the conditions in the detention centre unbearable and decided to end his life. Bereket had warned them he would kill himself. They said that his roommate was transferred to another detention centre immediately after the death.

Detainees at Harmondsworth met together on Friday 18th January to discuss the death of Bereket and their concerns with conditions in the centre. They formed a committee and drew up a number of complaints that they presented to United Kingdom Detention Services (UKDS) who manage the detention centre.



















Photographs: Stalingrad O'Neill