Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious and refugee advocate calls it ‘shocking and unnecessary’

A male detainee has died in the Villawood detention centre in Sydney’s west.

Emergency services responded to reports of a deceased person at the centre about 6.30pm on Friday, a police spokesman said.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Ian Rintoul, a refugee advocate, said the man – named only as Musa – was from Sierra Leone and had been found dead in his room in the centre’s Mitchell compound.

“This is a completely shocking and unnecessary death,” Rintoul, spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition, said in a statement on Friday.

“Musa should never have been in detention in the first place. His severe mental health problems have been known for years, yet he was kept in detention with no hope of getting well.”

The Australian Border Force has offered its condolences to the man’s family and friends.

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