Brussels, 8 October 2025 —
The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD) expresses its deepest sorrow and indignation over the death by suicide of Mahmoud Ezzat Farag Allah, a Palestinian refugee from Gaza, who was found dead in the 127bis Immigration Detention Centre in Steenokkerzeel, Belgium, after nearly three months of detention.
Mahmoud had fled the violence in Gaza and sought safety in Europe, only to face indefinite detention and psychological neglect. According to his lawyer, Gloria Mweze, Mahmoud was in a very fragile mental state and had previously been hospitalised for drug poisoning following suicidal thoughts. Despite her repeated warnings to the Immigration Appeals Board, his requests for medical attention and humane treatment were ignored.
His final asylum request was rejected by the Belgian Immigration Office on 2 October, just days before his death. Detainees at 127bis have since begun a hunger strike in protest, declaring that “today it’s Mahmoud, tomorrow it will be someone else.”
Mahmoud’s story is not an isolated tragedy but part of a systemic failure in Belgium’s immigration and asylum system, where vulnerable refugees—many survivors of war and trauma—are placed in carceral conditions without adequate psychological support or medical care.
IFRD urgently calls for:
- An independent public investigation into the circumstances of Mahmoud’s death and the conditions at 127bis;
- Immediate accountability measures against those responsible for negligence;
- A comprehensive review of Belgium’s use of detention for asylum seekers, in line with EU directives on human dignity and fundamental rights.
In direct response to this tragedy, IFRD will urgently launch a mental-health support initiative in collaboration with FSLuxembourg to provide trauma-informed care, counselling, and crisis intervention for newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers from Gaza and other conflict zones. This program will begin in Belgium and Luxembourg and expand across EU member states where Palestinian and other displaced refugees face acute psychological distress.
Mahmoud Ezzat Farag Allah’s death must not be forgotten. It is a test of our collective humanity and of Europe’s commitment to the principles it claims to uphold.
The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD)
reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the rights and dignity of all refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of arbitrary detention.
