Inquest into the Death of Ali JAFFARI
Deceased
Ali JAFFARI
Demographics
male
Date of death
2015-09-16
Finding date
2019-01-07
Cause of death
thermal injuries (burns)
AI-generated summary
Ali Jaffari, an immigration detainee, died by suicide at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre on 16 September 2015. He sustained fatal thermal injuries from a fire he deliberately started in his room. The deceased had attempted self-harm twice previously (August and September 2015) and received extensive mental health support through the Psychological Support Program, including psychiatric review and monitoring. He was diagnosed with adjustment disorder related to prolonged detention, loss of his protection visa, and fear of deportation to Afghanistan. While clinicians provided excellent, benevolent care with cultural sensitivity and appropriate psychiatric input, the coroner found that once the deceased had firmly decided to end his life following final loss of hope regarding his immigration status, no intervention short of granting residency would likely have prevented his death. The supervision, treatment and care were found to be reasonable and appropriate in the detention context.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- prolonged immigration detention
- loss of protection visa
- fear of deportation to Afghanistan
- social isolation and paranoia during period of acute mental illness
- awareness of identity exposure and criminal record
- family pressure and perceived burden on family
- inconsistent application of rules regarding detainee visits
- prevention of close associate from accompanying deceased to compound
Coroner's recommendations
- Serco should establish consistent application of rules relating to visits among detainees in compounds, with flexibility to adopt revised approaches for vulnerable detainees
- A 'buddy' system of support should be implemented for vulnerable detainees to allow nominated buddies to move between compounds
- Immigration detention centre policies should consider allowing close support persons to accompany vulnerable detainees
Full text
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