Key points
- An immigration detainee from Iraq was found dead in his cell at Villawood Detention Centre.
- He had been a detainee for five years.
- Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said Villawood was becoming 'a suicide factory'.
This article contains references to suicide/self-harm.
An immigration detainee from Iraq has died in a suspected suicide at Villawood Detention Centre.
The Department of Home Affairs, which oversees immigration detention, confirmed the death of the man on Sunday.
"The department and Australian Border Force express our condolences to the man's family and friends," a Home Affairs spokesperson said.
"The matter has been referred for investigation to the appropriate agencies, including the NSW Coroner.
"As this matter will be subject to ongoing investigation, it would not be appropriate to comment further."
The Refugee Action Coalition were alerted to the death early on Sunday morning, with the Iraqi detainee in his 30s found dead in his cell.
The man is believed to have been last seen alive at 10pm on Saturday in his cell. He was a detainee for five years.
"It is shocking that there has been yet another suicide in Villawood detention centre," the coalition's spokesman Ian Rintoul said.
"It is not just a factory for mental illness, it is becoming a suicide factory."
The coalition says the man had asked several times to be moved from the centre because of tensions with other detainees.
The man was involved in a fight with another detainee on Saturday night after he again asked to be moved that morning.
Immigration detainees have access to health services, including mental health services.
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at . supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the Refugee Action Coalition said the immigration detainee had been moved several times at the centre because of tensions with other detainees. The coalition had in fact said that the detainee had asked to be moved several times, including on Saturday morning before he was involved in a fight with another detainee that night. The article has been updated to reflect this.
