The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has launched an internal inquiry into the suicide of a Sri Lankan asylum seeker at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

The 41-year-old man killed himself on 28 December after hearing his request for a residence permit had been denied. It was the second time he had submitted the request. as the first one had been denied too. His body was found the next day. This was the first time an asylum seeker had committed suicide at Schiphol’s reception centre for refugees.

The lawyer who assisted the man in submitting his first asylum request says the IND knew that his client had psychological problems and had attempted suicide several times before. “The state has failed in its duty of care by not transferring him to a location where he could receive the care he needed,” Pieter Dietz told Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad.

The IND has refused to comment on the case for the duration of the probe, which is expected to be completed within a month.

(cl/imm)

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