Mentally ill asylum seeker left destitute leaps to her death
Zamira Sadigova, an Azerbaijani woman who came to Scotland with her teenage son four years ago, jumped to her death from her eleventh-floor flat in Knightswood, Glasgow, as health officers and police were breaking down her door in an attempt to section her for treatment
The 51-year-old's death last month, which went unreported, came after Glasgow City Council claimed she did not require help for her condition. This was despite repeated warnings by health officials that Ms Sadigova – who had been diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and had been hospitalised twice because of her condition – was a suicide risk and would be likely to suffer from a serious relapse if benefits and housing were withdrawn from her.
Ms Sadigova, a history graduate who came to the UK after studying for a PhD at Moscow State University, claimed she fled Russia because she had suffered persecution because of being Azerbaijani and her Jehovah's Witness faith. However, her asylum claim and a subsequent appeal were rejected and her benefits were withdrawn in April 2005. The council then began legal proceedings to evict her from her flat but eventually postponed this pending the results of a judicial review into her case. Ms Sadigova first came to the attention of health services in 2003 when she was found jumping in front of cars on a busy Glasgow street and subsequently sectioned for treatment.
A report by her GP and consultant psychiatrist warned that she was "extremely vulnerable to social stress" and that withdrawing benefits could lead to a further episode of psychosis. However, a later report by the council's social work department, carried out in January 2006, found she was "currently mentally well" and her only difficulties were due to stress caused by her uncertain immigration status. A report carried out two months later by an independent social worker contradicted this, stating that Ms Sadigova was "a vulnerable adult who needs support in respect of her diagnosed serious mental illness and deplorable social situation".
The 51-year-old's death last month, which went unreported, came after Glasgow City Council claimed she did not require help for her condition. This was despite repeated warnings by health officials that Ms Sadigova – who had been diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and had been hospitalised twice because of her condition – was a suicide risk and would be likely to suffer from a serious relapse if benefits and housing were withdrawn from her.
Ms Sadigova, a history graduate who came to the UK after studying for a PhD at Moscow State University, claimed she fled Russia because she had suffered persecution because of being Azerbaijani and her Jehovah's Witness faith. However, her asylum claim and a subsequent appeal were rejected and her benefits were withdrawn in April 2005. The council then began legal proceedings to evict her from her flat but eventually postponed this pending the results of a judicial review into her case. Ms Sadigova first came to the attention of health services in 2003 when she was found jumping in front of cars on a busy Glasgow street and subsequently sectioned for treatment.
A report by her GP and consultant psychiatrist warned that she was "extremely vulnerable to social stress" and that withdrawing benefits could lead to a further episode of psychosis. However, a later report by the council's social work department, carried out in January 2006, found she was "currently mentally well" and her only difficulties were due to stress caused by her uncertain immigration status. A report carried out two months later by an independent social worker contradicted this, stating that Ms Sadigova was "a vulnerable adult who needs support in respect of her diagnosed serious mental illness and deplorable social situation".
posted by zibmac at 12:00 PM
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