Unwanted, Unnoticed: an audit of 160 asylum and immigration-related deaths in Europe migrants died in a fire caused by a fallen candle in a squat in Pantin, Paris. The migrants, most of whom were Tunisian, were destitute and lived in the squat with other undocumented migrants. The lawyer of four of the families of those who died requested provisional residency permits for seventeen survivors of the fire, but by the end of 2013, only two of the seventeen had received permits. An Egyptian migrant was given an eighteen-month prison sentence for accidentally causing the fire. The French NGO, the League for Human Rights, has said that the incident highlights the urgent need for safe accommodation for undocumented migrants.26 • Ismael (20), 22/12/2011 An Ethiopian asylum seeker, Ismael was found dead at the bottom of a bridge in the centre of Calais. Ismael was well-known in migrant and activist circles in Calais, and his friends disagree with the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s theory that he committed suicide, stating that the drop was not of itself enough to kill him. An inquest and autopsy were refused.27 • Unidentified man (27), 19/09/2013 A Bosnian asylum seeker was found dead in his tent in a makeshift camp in a disused parking lot in Metz. It is believed that the man was in poor health and that he died of natural causes. The French charity, the Moselle Collective for the Struggle Against Poverty, states that prior to his death, they had made complaints about the poor conditions of those living in the camp, to no avail. As a consequence of his death, a court in Strasbourg has ordered the demolition of the camp and the re-housing of the other asylum seekers. The Collective is lobbying for the upholding of the dignity of asylum seekers and for urgent liveable accommodation.28 • Dorel Iosif Floarea (42), 29/07/2014 A Romanian migrant, Floarea died in Montgeron, Essonne, after being apprehended by police and shot in the stomach with live ammunition, as well as by a ‘flash-ball’ gun (which fires rubber bullets). Floarea, his brother and a friend were drinking near a building squatted by minority ethnic groups when the police arrived and told them to stop drinking. One policeman allegedly grabbed Floarea’s bottle, emptied its contents and threw it in the bin. Another officer claimed that he felt threatened by Floarea, tried to move away from him and fell. A third policeman then shot Floarea with a ‘flash-ball’, and the policeman on the ground shot him in the thorax. Floarea died of his injuries. An investigation has been opened.29 • Abdelhak Goradia (51), 21/08/2014 An Algerian undocumented migrant, Goradia died after being driven to the airport by police for deportation. He had received a deportation notice nine days earlier, after being convicted of theft, fraud and aggravated assault on his brother. Despite his lawyer reminding the police several times that the deportation could not go ahead because legal proceedings were ongoing, Goradia was allegedly handcuffed, removed from his cell and driven to the airport. The police initially stated that Goradia died from a ‘sudden heart attack’, but the autopsy found that he died from asphyxiation and vomiting. Investigations have begun into an ‘involuntary homicide’ case.30 GERMANY SNAPSHOT: In September 2014, footage emerged from Germany showing guards from one of the main operators of asylum reception facilities, European Homecare, abusing asylum seekers, forcing them to lie down on mattresses covered in vomit and standing with a boot on their neck. Germany’s use of prisons to detain migrants and asylum seekers has been condemned by the European Court of Justice, and hunger strikes and protests at detention conditions and treatment are common – as are protests against the law of compulsory residence.31 IRR | European Research Progamme Briefing No. 10 11