Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, a 41-year-old Afghan national who fought alongside U.S. forces, died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody due to an allergic reaction. Paktiawal’s death certificate shows that he suffered from an adverse drug reaction, which triggered anaphylaxis and exacerbated his asthma.

Background

Paktiawal was detained by ICE on March 13 as part of deportation proceedings. He had entered the U.S. through a legal process and requested asylum, which was pending at the time of his arrest. Paktiawal was a father of six and had been living in Richardson, Texas.

ICE has defended its decision to target Paktiawal for deportation, citing his arrest on food stamp fraud and theft charges. However, he had not been convicted in either case. Paktiawal’s family and advocacy groups have demanded answers about his death, including the release of his full autopsy report.

Investigation

The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on Paktiawal, and the cause of death was determined to be anaphylaxis complicating acute asthma exacerbation. The toxic effects of methamphetamine, heart disease, and cigarette smoking were listed as contributing factors in his death.

However, Paktiawal’s family members and coworkers have stated that they did not know him to use methamphetamine. A private autopsy performed for the family could not confirm whether he had methamphetamine in his system due to the lack of blood remaining for testing.

County authorities have refused to release the autopsy report, citing statements from ICE officials that doing so would interfere with a federal investigation into Paktiawal’s death.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.