More than 100 died in Malaysian immigration detention camps in two years

More than 100 foreigners died in the past two years in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres from various diseases and unknown causes, according to documents from the government–funded National Human Rights Commission.

The toll, which has not been previously disclosed, is based on Malaysian immigration department data provided to the commission, which is known by its Malay acronym Suhakam. There were 83 deaths in 2015, and at least 35 in 2016 up to December 20.

It is unclear whether the death rate is higher than in neighbouring countries. Government officials in Indonesia and Thailand said they do not disclose such numbers. The rate is higher than in major industrialised nations such as the United States, which in the last financial year recorded 10 deaths in its immigration detention system, which has many more detainees than Malaysia’s.

More than half of the 118 dead are from Myanmar, the source for tens of thousands of refugees coming to Malaysia, including Rohingya Muslims escaping persecution by Myanmar’s authorities and its majority Buddhist population. The number of Rohingya fatalities in the camps is unknown.