Isa Muazu, a Nigerian national, who was refused asylum in the United Kingdom, is reportedly close to death after embarking on a 90-day hunger strike in protest against his confinement at an immigrant detention centre.
The 45-year-old reportedly refused food and also refused treatment in hospital unless he is released on bail from Harmondsworth detention centre.
Despite his precarious condition, Justice Ouseley of a high court in London on Tuesday ruled that Muazu’s detention was lawful, stressing that the Nigerian’s decision to continue to refuse food and fluids was, in the end, for him to make.
“His detention does not become unlawful simply because he is determined on that outcome,” he said.
Justice Ouseley, however, said his condition must be kept under review after it was argued that his death would defeat the purpose of his detention, which was to hold him pending deportation as an overstayer in the UK.
Because the case is of general importance, the judge gave Muazu’s lawyers permission to appeal against his decision but the lawyers feared he might die before the appeal.
“Our concern is that he is now so near death that there will not be enough time to appeal,” Sue Willman of the law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn, said. “I hope the home secretary will now reconsider releasing him from detention as she now has a judgement that supports her policies.”