NEW YORK (Sputnik) — The death cause of Russian national Igor Zyazin, who passed away in the US Immigration custody last week, will take up to three months to determine, a spokesperson for the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"The case is still open. It takes up to 30 to 90 days for a cause of death to be determined," the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office told Sputnik that an official autopsy could take up to six to eight weeks.
The sheriff’s office added that evidence suggests that Zyazin’s death was likely due to ‘natural’ causes, but no official determination can be made until an autopsy is released.
The case is not being handled as a criminal investigation at this time, sheriff’s office said.
On Tuesday, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that Zyazin, 46, died in custody on Sunday night at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. He had been detained by the immigration agency since April 24, and was awaiting an interview by an ICE officer to determine the next steps in his case.
According to the ICE, Zyazin had presented a Russian passport to US Customs and Border Protection officers at the port of entry to the country, after which it was determined that he had previously been deported in 2009. Zyazin had no criminal history in the US, ICE added.
Russian Foreign Ministry’s Human Rights Ombudsman Konstantin Dolgov said that Washington did not inform Moscow about Zyazin’s detention, a direct violation of the Russia-US consular convention agreement of June 1, 2964.
The Russian Consulate General in California has established contact with ICE to find out the details of the incident.
