Death of Serawit Gezahegn Dejene in ICE custody
Serawit Gezahegn Dejene
1 — medical (complications of multiple infections with HIV; pneumonia, sepsis, TB, stroke)Killed
Serawit Gezahegn Dejene (45, Ethiopia) died on 2025-01-29 while in the custody of ICE, in Eloy Detention Center, Eloy, AZ (died at Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix). Transferred to ICU Dec 31 2024; life support discontinued Jan 29 by family/medical decision.
Official account
ICE press release said Ethiopian national passed away at a Phoenix-area hospital; mortality review released.
What is documented
- Person: Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, age 45; Ethiopia.
- Location: Eloy Detention Center, Eloy, AZ (died at Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix).
- Agency: ICE.
- Cause: medical (complications of multiple infections with HIV; pneumonia, sepsis, TB, stroke).
- Circumstance: Transferred to ICU Dec 31 2024; life support discontinued Jan 29 by family/medical decision.
Scrutiny of the official account
Grounded in the sourced record below; this documents the dispute rather than asserting a conclusion.
- Status / dispute: Conditions at Eloy under advocacy scrutiny; family questioned care.
Unanswered questions
- Will the responsible agency release its full records, footage, and the medical examiner's findings?
- Was the death preventable — and were required medical or welfare protocols followed?
- Will an independent body (not the agency itself) investigate?
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See also
Needs review