United Nations confirms deaths of 24 people in detention centres since 2015, 22 of whom were Myanmar nationals, but toll could be much higher<\/strong><\/p>\n At least two dozen refugees and asylum seekers have died in Malaysia immigration detention centres since 2015, the United Nations<\/a> refugee agency has told the Guardian.<\/p>\n Living in fetid, overcrowded cells, inmates are so severely deprived of basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care that the Malaysian national human rights commission described conditions as \u201ctorture-like\u201d.<\/p>\n Among a dozen recently-released refugees interviewed by the Guardian, everyone saw at least one inmate die, mostly of disease, but in some cases also due to physical abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cThey gave us only one small cup of water with our meals, otherwise we had to drink toilet water,\u201d said Mouyura Begum, an 18-year-old Rohingya refugee detained for over a year at Belantik.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly when someone was about to die would the guards come. Otherwise, if we complained, or if we asked to go to the hospital, they beat us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n All but two of the 24 \u201cpeople of concern\u201d confirmed dead by the UN were Myanmar nationals. The toll, based on data provided by Malaysian authorities, may represent only a fraction of refugee fatalities in 17 immigration detention centres.<\/p>\n \u201cUNHCR is informed of the death of a detained person of concern when we make a request pertaining to that person,\u201d said Richard Towle, UNHCR\u2019s country representative in Malaysia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former detained refugees said they spent months, even years, petitioning the guards to notify UNHCR of their whereabouts \u2014 the only way to get their refugee status verified and avoid deportation. The average lock up period is 16 months.<\/p>\n \u201cThese deaths are absolutely preventable,\u201d said Amy Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. \u201cThe fix is very easy \u2014 Malaysia just has to stop treating refugees like hardened criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n Malaysia\u2019s home ministry this month revealed in parliament that 161 people died of \u201cvarious diseases\u201d in immigration detention between 2014-2016. It did not indicate how many of the dead were refugees but almost half were from Myanmar, the source of 90% of Malaysia\u2019s refugee population.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what is officially being disclosed, so we should take the numbers as the bare minimum,\u201d said Andrew Khoo, co-chair of the Malaysian Bar Council\u2019s Human Rights Committee.<\/p>\n Relatively affluent Malaysia has long served as a hub for some of the world\u2019s most vulnerable people, including a large number of stateless Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar. As of the end of April, 150,662 refugees and asylum seekers were registered with UNHCR, while tens of thousands more were still unrecognised.<\/p>\n Malaysian law allows foreigners suspected of entering the country illegally to be detained for \u201csuch period as may be necessary\u201d. Incarceration can extend upward of five years.<\/p>\n
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