THIS is the first image of the Syrian man who died seeking asylum in Scotland.
Adnan Olbeh died at the Glasgow hotel where he and other asylum seekers had been moved to by a Home Office contractor.
Emergency services were called to attend to the 30-year-old at McLay's Hotel last Tuesday and his death is being treated as unexplained.
A post mortem has yet to take place but friends told The National that Mr Olbeh had begun using cheap street drugs while in the UK asylum system and while initial reports suggested that he ended his own life, this has not been verified.
Another McLay's Hotel resident, who did not want to be named for fear of harming his asylum case, said it is unclear whether or not Mr Olbeh had intended to end his life. However, he said his friend was a torture survivor and his calls for mental health help were unanswered.
An image released today through the charity Positive Action in Housing (PAIH), which is working with Mr Olbeh's family to arrange the repatriation of his body for burial, shows him well dressed and smartly groomed.
One friend said Mr Olbeh had felt "under more pressure" since moving to McLay's Hotel and losing all financial support and independent living facilities. He said: "I wonder if there was any small thing I could have done to save him."
READ MORE: Fury after Syrian asylum seeker found dead in Scottish hotel
Today PAIH director Robina Qureshi urged Home Secretary Priti Patel to act now and avoid further harm. She described the treatment of asylum seekers during the pandemic as "beyond comprehension", saying they have been left unable to top up phones to contact lawyers and family or buy fresh fruit and sanitary products.
Urging her to investigate the circumstances around Mr Olbeh's death, Qureshi told Patel she must act to alleviate the hardship caused by the lockdown changes "before a further tragedy occurs".
Qureshi said: "There are many other 'Adnans' living in these hotels. This would go some way to ease the hardship they are currently suffering."
The Home Office says all accommodation changes are necessary and there are "a range of measures to support asylum seekers who are affected by the coronavirus outbreak".
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