Family of Sri Lankan man who died after deportation from UK blames Home Office

The family of Sudharsan Ithayachandran, a man who died abroad after being wrongly deported by the UK Home Office, has blamed the department for causing delays that prevented him from being reunited with his children, The Guardian (UK) reports.

Sudharsan Ithayachandran, 41, was deported from the UK to Sri Lanka on December 24, 2019 – his wedding anniversary – after admitting to working illegally at Tesco and using false documents. He left behind his devastated wife, Subatra Sudharsan, 41, who is profoundly deaf, and their two children, Priyan, nine, and Priyanka, eight. All three are British citizens. His mother-in-law, Yasadora Nagendra, 60, whom he cared for, described him as “the pillar of the family.”

In November 2023, an immigration tribunal ruled in favour of Ithayachandran, with Judge Bonavero acknowledging his right to family life in the UK with his wife and children. Despite the Home Office not appealing the ruling, they delayed processing his visa for several months, forcing him to remain in perilous conditions in Sri Lanka. The family is of Tamil heritage.

It was only when Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors initiated judicial review proceedings against the Home Office regarding the delay that officials began processing his return to the UK earlier this month. They issued an apology letter, attributing the delay to backlogs in the department and stating that the delay was not the fault of the officials. However, on 19 May, Ithayachandran was found collapsed at his accommodation in Sri Lanka and died after being taken to hospital, with sepsis thought to be the cause of death. His family reported that he had been in a deep depression due to his prolonged separation from his children and had not been eating or looking after himself properly.

Nagendra expressed the family’s devastation: “I don’t know how the family is ever going to get over this. When he was here, he looked after everybody. He was such a kind and supportive man. Nobody can replace him. I believe that if the Home Office had not deported him, he would still be alive today. We blame them for his death.”

She added: “He was treated very unfairly by the Home Office. He was so depressed that even after he won his case last November, the Home Office delayed making arrangements for his return to the UK. He couldn’t understand why he still had to wait to come back to his family.”

Lou Calvey, the director of the charity Asylum Matters, called for accountability: “Serious questions must be answered about this heartbreaking case. Why was Sudharsan deported when he had such clear rights to remain here? Why did the Home Office delay implementing the court ruling reversing the deportation? Why did he have to die alone without his family?”

Kandiah emphasised the tribunal’s recognition of Ithayachandran’s relationship with his children, stating, “The tribunal accepted our client had a genuine and subsisting relationship with his children and that living without them would be ‘unduly harsh’. He had spent years battling the Home Office to simply rejoin his family. He finally won his case but died before he could do this.”

A Home Office spokesperson commented: “All deportation orders are considered on a case-by-case basis, based on the evidence provided. Once an appeal has been allowed against the refusal to revoke a deportation order, the responsibility of applying for entry clearance to the UK lies with the individual and their representatives.”

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