A Nigerian man detained at a Japanese immigration detention center has reportedly died after embarking on a hunger strike for several days to protest his lengthy detention.

The man, who was said to be in 40s died on Monday, June 24, 2019, in the southern city of Nagasaki after he lost consciousness.

According to Reuters, a detention center official who declined to be identified did not give any reason for the death of the Nigerian man.

But RINK, a group supporting detainees at the detention center made it known that the Nigerian had been on hunger strike to protest his lengthy detention.

Reuters reports that the death of the Nigerian man was 15th death since 2006 in a system widely criticized over medical standards, the monitoring of detainees and how guards respond to a medical emergency in Japan.

Another group supporting detainees said another 27 foreigners are on hunger strike at a detention center in Ushiku, northeast of Tokyo, Reuters reports.

A spokeswoman for the group, Kimiko Tanaka said some of the detainees at the centre have gone without food for 47 days.

She said one of them, a 23-year-old Iranian man, who according to her sought asylum over two-years ago has lost weight and is now using a wheelchair, adding that there are two other men at the centre who have been detained for more than five years.

She said, “The reality of a lengthy detention is nothing but a human rights violation,”

Confirming the claim about hunger strikers inn the Ushiku detention centre, an official at the national immigration agency said authorities are providing medical care and trying to persuade them to eat. </s> A Nigerian, yet-to-be-identified, has died in a Japanese immigration detention centre, bringing to an end a hunger strike an activist group said was intended to protest against his being held for more than three years, an official said, yesterday.

 Sources said that his death was the 15th death since 2006 in a system widely criticised over medical standards, the monitoring of detainees and how guards respond to a medical emergency.

 The man, in his 40s, died last Monday, in the southern city of Nagasaki after he lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, a detention centre official said.

 He did not give a cause of death.

 The RINK, a group supporting detainees at the centre, said the Nigerian had been on hunger strike to protest his lengthy detention.

 Another 27 foreigners are on hunger strike at a detention centre in Ushiku, northeast of Tokyo, a separate group supporting detainees at that facility said.

 Some of them have gone without food for 47 days, a spokeswoman for the group, Kimiko Tanaka, said. </s> TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - A Nigerian man died in a Japanese immigration detention center this week, an official said on Thursday, bringing to an end a hunger strike an activist group said was intended to protest against his being held for more than three years.

An inside view of a shared cell is seen at the East Japan Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, March 19, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

It was the 15th death since 2006 in a system widely criticized over medical standards, the monitoring of detainees and how guards respond to a medical emergency.

The man, in his 40s, died on Monday in the southern city of Nagasaki after he lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, said a detention center official who declined to be identified.

He did not give a cause of death.

RINK, a group supporting detainees at the center, told Reuters the Nigerian had been on hunger strike to protest his lengthy detention.

Another 27 foreigners are on hunger strike at a detention center in Ushiku, northeast of Tokyo, said a separate group supporting detainees at that facility.

Some of them have gone without food for 47 days, said Kimiko Tanaka, a spokeswoman for the group.

She said a 23-year-old Iranian man who sought asylum more than two years ago has lost weight and is using a wheelchair.

Two other men at Ushiku have been detained for five years, she said.

“The reality of a lengthy detention is nothing but a human rights violation,” Tanaka said.

An official at the national immigration agency confirmed there are hunger strikers at the Ushiku center, but he did not say how many. Authorities are providing medical care and trying to persuade them to eat, he added.

Immigration is a contentious issue in Japan, where ethnic and cultural homogeneity are deeply rooted.

Japan held about 1,500 detainees as of June 2018, according to the latest public data, nearly half of them for more than six months.

Some 604 were asylum seekers whose applications were rejected, while the rest were held for various immigration infractions such as overstaying visas. </s> A man died early Saturday morning after he reportedly tried to attack a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Washington state. More specifically, the man was targeting the Northwest Detention Center, which is the holding facility in Tacoma for ICE. The man apparently approached the privately run facility that is used to hold migrants while they await their deportation proceedings at around 4 a.m. That is when an employee at the prison reported that a man armed with a rifle was throwing homemade incendiary devices at the detention center as well as cars in the parking lot. The man was also allegedly trying to set a propane tank on fire.

Law enforcement officers went to the scene and reported seeing a man holding flares and a rifle. Officers called out to the man and then reported “shots fired.” It isn’t clear whether the gunman also opened fire on police. When medical help arrived, officers confirmed the gunman had been shot and killed but said it remains unclear whether he was killed by officers or whether he shot himself. The gunman has yet to be identified and there is no word about a possible motive. GEO Group, which runs the facility in Tacoma, said in a statement that incorrect claims about mistreatment of detainees at the facility “have led to misplaced aggression and a dangerous environment for our employees, whose safety is our top priority.”

The shooting came a day before the national raids by ICE are set to begin. The effort that had been delayed is meant to arrest 2,000 undocumented migrants with deportation orders. A few hours earlier, protesters had gathered at the detention center in Tacoma to protest. The raids were originally planned for 10 cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Baltimore, Chicago and Atlanta. Officials, however, said that due to Hurricane Barry, Houston and New Orleans will not be targeted.
A Nigerian man dies in a Japanese immigration detention center this week, an official says. It ends a hunger strike that an activist group said was intended to protest against him being held for more than three years.