Family wants 'justice' over Manus death

A lawyer acting for the family of Iranian refugee Hamed Shamshiripour, who died on Manus Island earlier this week, has called for an inquest into his death.

George Newhouse says Mr Shamshiripour's family in Iran awoke to see photos online of their son hanging from a tree on Manus. Refugee activists say foul play can't be ruled out.

"The family don't know what to believe," Mr Newhouse told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

The lawyer is calling on the Australian government to investigate Mr Shamshiripour's death.

"When a person dies in custody it is automatic grounds for an inquest in this country and under PNG law."

An autopsy should be carried out by an independent forensic pathologist, Mr Newhouse said.

At a lunchtime vigil for Mr Shamshiripour, 31, in Sydney's CBD on Wednesday, the activist lawyer questioned the Australian government's role in the death.

"Government officials knew about his fragile condition and they left him to die," he said.

Mr Newhouse, on behalf of the family, demanded the Australian and PNG governments preserve Mr Shamshiripour's body in "mortuary-like conditions" until it can be independently examined.

The Australian government should also guarantee the 31-year-old refugee's body is returned to his family in Iran when the investigation is finished.

Mr Newhouse, who works for the National Justice Project, said in the past five years he has experienced the "intense grief" of 10 families who had "lost loved ones held in immigration detention centres run by the Australian government".

Mr Shamshiripour, an Iranian refugee with a history of mental illness, was found dead on Monday near the township of Lorengau on Manus Island in PNG.

It's believed he took his own life.

The death is being investigated by PNG authorities and a report will be prepared for the coroner.