Sri Lanka student detained at Japan immigration center for 7 months dies

Sri Lanka student detained at Japan immigration center for 7 months dies

A Sri Lankan woman has died while being detained at an Immigration detention Centre in Nagoya, Japan, the Daily Mirror reported.

According to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Tokyo, the 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman is reported to have died on March 6.

An Embassy Spokesperson said the woman had been at the detention centre since August 2020 as her visa had expired.

A team led by Minister at the SL Embassy Roshan Gamage had visited the Centre in Nagoya and had met the authorities at the centre with regard to the death.

He said the authorities had vouched to conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident and had also promised to submit a report soon.

Preliminary investigations reveal that the victim was a resident of Gampaha and had arrived in Japan in 2017 as a student.

Japanese Immigration authorities had later detained her in August with the expiry of her visa, and she was moved to the Nagoya detention centre, which accommodates foreigners without status of residence.

The victim is reported to have complaint over the food she received at the centre on multiple occasions, which had resulted in her becoming physically weak.

The embassy spokesman said the woman was inspected by doctors at least on six occasions, while she had been hospitalized at least twice over her deteriorating health condition.

The Spokesman said the cause of death is unknown, and the Japanese Foreign Ministry has been informed to conduct an impartial inquiry and submit the report soon.

He said that the family in Sri Lanka had been informed about the woman’s demise and measures including the dispatch of the remains would be taken accordingly.