Prashant Shah appears at inquest into the death of Victor Pereira Vargas

Prashant Shah appeared at the inquest touching upon the death of Victor Pereira Vargas at East Sussex Coroner’s Court.

At the time of his death, Mr Pereira Vargas was an asylum seeker being and supported with other asylum seekers in a hotel in East Sussex which was being used as interim contingency asylum support accommodation under contractual arrangements established by the Home Office. He was found dead by hotel staff shortly on 13 October 2023. The inquest had sought to establish whether there had been any safeguarding failings in the weeks leading up to his death and whether staff had been adequately trained.

Following a five-day hearing, the coroner investigating his death concluded that Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights was not engaged, and that Victor had died from self-inflicted injuries whilst suffering from extreme anxiety and distress.

Prashant was instructed on behalf of one of the companies subcontracted to provide staff at the hotel.