Investigate deaths and abuse in immigration detention centers; ensure humane detention conditions
(KUALA LUMPUR, July 16, 2026)—The Malaysian government should immediately investigate the large number of deaths in immigration detention centers and end abusive detention practices that put refugees and migrants at risk, said Fortify Rights today. New government data disclosed in parliament reveal that deaths in immigration depots surged following years of escalating immigration arrests and detention of refugees and migrants in Malaysia.
“Malaysia’s immigration depots have become places where people are sent to die,” said Lynn Htet, Human Rights Specialist at Fortify Rights. “The government must investigate whether detainees were denied timely and adequate medical care, and publish full details on every death in detention.”
In early July, the Minister of Home Affairs disclosed in parliament that between 2021 and 2025, 465 people had died in immigration detention centers (IDCs) in Malaysia, including 393 men, 60 women, and 12 minors. Based on this disclosure, Fortify Rights calculates that a combined total of 109 people died in immigration detention in 2024 and 2025—an official year-by-year breakdown is not available.
Additionally, the ministry also revealed in a parliamentary disclosure on July 14 that 31 people have died in immigration detention so far this year, with a reporting end date of June 30, 2026.
The deaths in detention follow a historic surge in immigration enforcement against undocumented migrants and refugees in a government campaign that started in 2024. Immigration arrests reached their highest levels in more than a decade in 2025, putting pressure on already overcrowded detention centers and compounding problems of medical neglect that are notoriously rife in Malaysia’s IDCs. According to the latest government statistics, the detention centers currently hold 22,045 detainees, above the government’s self-declared capacity of 21,530, making them overcrowded. In total, since 2024, when the enforcement campaign was launched, there have been a total of 140 deaths in immigration detention.
The Malaysian government does not routinely publish disaggregated data on deaths in custody in immigration detention. Instead, figures are disclosed sporadically through parliamentary replies and media interviews, preventing meaningful public scrutiny of the scale of preventable deaths in detention.
The disclosed causes of death also raise serious concerns about preventable illness and medical neglect in immigration detention, Fortify Rights said.
The ministry cited deaths from sepsis, leptospirosis, and meningitis, which are conditions that can be caused or worsened by untreated infections, contaminated water, poor sanitation, and overcrowding, and are potentially preventable or treatable.
Since 2025, Fortify Rights has spoken to dozens of former detainees who described serious barriers to access to healthcare in immigration detention centers in Malaysia. Detainees spoke of being denied treatment, or facing delayed medical treatment, or sometimes being punished for requesting treatment. They also described how being forced to live in squalid conditions, as well as inadequate food and accesss to clean drinking water, has aggravated existing medical conditions.
“[T]hey beat people when they report feeling sick … and they are very severe. People are afraid to report sick,” Hussein, a Bangladeshi former detainee, said. “In one or two cases, only when they are completely weak and on the verge of dying, only did the officers allow them to see the doctor.”
Where medicine was provided at all, interviewees sometimes described it as grossly insufficient. Medical officers often dispensed single paracetamol tablets regardless of the illness’s nature or severity, as a one-size-fits-all treatment for a variety of sicknesses. “Kamal,” not his real name, a Rohingya refugee who was detained in Semenyih, described: “[At different times,] I had a fever, stomachache, or headache; they only provided [paracetamol].”
“Thang Lian,” a refugee from Myanmar, who developed a toothache while detained for two months at the Bukit Jalil camp in 2025, initially requested to see a dentist. “I asked to see a dentist. I saw a doctor, but the doctor did not check my tooth,” he explained. “He just gave [paracetamol].”
One former detainee, “Jack,” a refugee from Myanmar, who was released in early 2026, described:
During the time I stayed there, I saw two people die. One was Thai, and one was an Indonesian detainee. The Thai man stayed next to my cell. Around 8:30 p.m., after muster call, he appeared to become paralyzed, or he had a stroke. The officers or guards did not care at first. Only after many detainees complained did they pay attention. They came, took a picture, and said they would let him see a doctor. Around one to two hours later, an immigration medical staff member came with [paracetamol] tablets and gave them to him. … The staff pushed the tablets into his mouth and poured water in [as he appeared unconscious]. A few hours later, around 10 p.m., they sent him to the hospital. The next morning, we heard that he had died.
Under international law, all detained persons have the right to adequate healthcare, and prison or detention authorities must ensure timely access to medical aid without discrimination. The right to life is recognized in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” Although Malaysia is not a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to life is a fundamental principle of international human rights law and is widely recognized as a norm of customary international law.
Article 10(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights further requires that “All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.” The U.N. Human Rights Committee, in its General Comment 21, states that persons deprived of liberty must be treated in a manner that respects their dignity, including access to necessary medical services.
Rule 24 of the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, says that states should ensure that all prisoners have access to medical care:
The provision of health care for prisoners is a State responsibility. Prisoners should enjoy the same standards of health care that are available in the community, and should have access to necessary health-care services free of charge without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.
In 2024, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC), the agency responsible for oversight of several law enforcement agencies, including the Immigration Department of Malaysia, also called for preventing deaths in immigration detention. “Every life is precious and all possible steps and precautions are needed to prevent death in custody,” said EAIC chairperson Ismail Bakar.
For years, the authorities have relied on immigration raids, detention, and deportation to manage migration. Since 2024, the government has been running the Migrant Repatriation Programme, allowing undocumented migrants to return to their countries of origin during a fixed period, while ramping up immigration enforcement at the same time to encourage uptakes. Immigration detention centers in Malaysia are overcrowded, unsafe, and harmful to health. Fortify Rights has documented how detainees lacked adequate food, clean drinking water, sanitation, and medical care, and are frequently subjected to inhumane and squalid conditions in Malaysia’s IDCs.
“Horrific conditions in detention camps are responsible for needless deaths in custody. Malaysia has a legal responsibility to treat people in its custody humanely, and to provide them with prompt and adequate medical care when needed,” said Peter Bouckaert, Senior Director at Fortify Rights “Malaysia should uphold its responsibility to prevent further deaths in custody and hold those responsible accountable for the previous deaths of detainees.”
Photo credit: Immigration Department of Malaysia. ©JAcMY01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commonsa