THE family of the murdered asylum seeker Firsat Dag are planning to sue Glasgow city council for failing to protect their son.

They hope to prove that the council failed in its duty of care to the refugee by housing him in one of the most deprived and dangerous parts of the city.

Dag, 22, a Turkish Kurd who was seeking asylum in Britain, was stabbed to death in August 2001 while walking through the Sighthill housing estate in the north of Glasgow where he had been accommodated in a high-rise block.

In December of the same year, Scott Burrell, 26, was jailed for life for his murder. Lord Kingarth, the trial judge, branded the murder as “shameful, cowardly and unprovoked”.

Dag’s family were awarded the maximum compensation of £11,000 for his death by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) following his death. However, the sum was halved because Dag allegedly used a false name on his asylum application.

His family now plan to take legal action against the council and hope to be represented by a firm of litigation lawyers on a no-win-no-fee basis. They will claim their son’s life was endangered by being housed in an area where attacks on asylum seekers had increased.

Speaking from the family’s home town of Ucagil, Turkey, his uncle Mazhar Dag said: “Firsat did not choose to go to the Sighthill estate. He was put there by Glasgow council, even though they knew that there were a lot of racists and racist violence there. Nobody can convince us there wasn’t a racist element in Firsat’s death.”

Sighthill’s 7,500 residents live in one of the poorest areas in Britain with the second-worst health record nationally and the highest unemployment figures in Scotland.

Glasgow city council renovated unoccupied flats in the area to house 1,500 asylum seekers from more than 20 countries (speaking 43 languages) in a Home Office deal to alleviate pressure on the south of England. But it sparked resentment and violence among residents.

Dag was killed as he walked back from Glasgow city centre on August 5, 2001. His death sparked angry demonstrations and racial tension between residents and asylum seekers in Sighthill.

Since his murder the number of racially motivated assaults has dropped by 56%, according to figures released by Strathclyde police.

Crown and Home Office records showed that Dag applied for asylum using a false identity after his six-month UK visitor visa expired in September 2000.

Reports following Dag’s death said he had entered Britain under the name of Firsat Yildiz. It was claimed he had dropped Dag — the last part of his name — to protect his family from persecution by the Turkish authorities.

In a letter to Rabia and Cemil, Dag’s parents, CICA wrote: “Having carefully considered all the evidence available, I am satisfied that Firsat Dag’s unlawful conduct makes it inappropriate for a full award to be made from public funds.”

Fasih Dag, another of Firsat’s uncles, reacted angrily to the decision. “It’s a disgrace. Is this all that a human life is worth? Just £5,500?” he said. “Firsat’s family are very poor and his father is in bad health. Who is going to provide for this family? Firsat was their only hope.

“We don’t even know if we can file a case for compensation for Firsat’s death against the Glasgow municipality or the police. We feel really let down.

“They should either pay proper compensation to Firsat’s family or allow them to go to Britain and look after them there. The compensation was not very much anyway and now they have halved it.”

Mohammed Razaq, an officer with West of Scotland Racial Equality Council who organised Dag’s compensation case, said: “The officer dealing with the compensation case believes there are grounds to appeal but that is up to the family. I cannot comment on any other action.”

Jim Price of Glasgow-based law firm Ross Harper said that he would be prepared to talk to the family.

“We would have to determine whether there was any breach in the council’s duty of care to Firsat Dag,” he said.

Glasgow city council declined to comment.

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