Bibby Stockholm: Migrant's family 'can't afford' to repatriate body, sister says

Leonard Farruku, 27, was found unresponsive on board the vessel on 12 December

The sister of an asylum seeker who died on the Bibby Stockholm barge has said the family cannot afford to bring his body back to his native Albania.

Leonard Farruku was found unresponsive on board the vessel at Portland Port, Dorset, on 12 December.

A coroner previously said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Mr Farruku's family has set up an online fundraising page in a bid to repatriate the 27-year-old's body.

Tributes to Mr Farruku were left at the entrance to Portland Port when news of his death spread

His sister, Jola Dushku, 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."

In a statement on the fundraising page, which aims to raise £10,000, she added: "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. Leonard's body has been in the Dorset morgue since 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."

The three-storey barge houses people awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications

Home Secretary James Cleverly previously said Mr Farruku's sudden death would be "fully" investigated.

An impact assessment, which found the policy of housing asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm 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 said the impact assessment was "published in error".

The report said the policy of housing up to 500 single men on the barge was "directly discriminating in relation to age (and) sex" because the barge was only suitable for men aged 18 to 65.

However, the document noted that the Equality Act allows for such discrimination if it is "justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".

The government has previously declined to publish an equality impact assessment for the Bibby Stockholm.

People gathered outside Portland Port to pay their respects following Mr Farruku's death

Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin told an inquest no other person was involved in the death of Mr Farruku, whose body remains in a Dorset morgue.

The cause of death was given as neck compression as a result of hanging.

The inquest was adjourned until July to gather evidence from barge authorities.

Housing asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm has drawn opposition, with some critics describing conditions as "prison-like".

In December, campaigners called for all asylum seekers on board to be removed from the barge following the death of a migrant.

The vessel's first 39 residents were also evacuated in August after Legionella bacteria was found in the water supply.

The migrants were returned in October after the Home Office declared it "safe and secure".

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