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Convicted criminal from Congo allowed to stay in UK, after court overturns Home Office decision (16 December 2013)

Date: 16/12/2013
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Convicted criminal from Congo allowed to stay in UK, after court overturns Home Office decision

A senior appeal judge has overturned the Home Office’s decision to deport a violent convicted criminal back to The Democratic Republic of the Congo because of fears he would face imprisonment or violence in his home country.

The 26-year-old man has served time in jail for burglary in the UK – and has also attacked a police officer.

However, he has been granted leave to remain in Britain because he might face torture or violence in the DRC’s prison system if he returned home. It is thought he may now be granted asylum despite Home Office attempts to remove him from the UK.

The case is highlighted in a report in the Mail online – which also reveals that another man from the DRC seeking asylum in the UK has had his application refused and will be removed from the UK and returned to the Congo because he does not have a criminal record and therefore is unlikely to face the authorities in his home country.

The two cases highlight the use of Human Rights law to reach a decision in asylum cases or applications for leave to stay in the UK.

Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the individual against torture or “inhuman treatment”.

The court’s decision to allow a convicted criminal to remain in the UK in defiance of Home Office attempts to remove them may mean more convicted criminals could be allowed to remain in Britain if it is thought they would face torture or violence in jails in their home country.

Many thousands of people from the DRC have come to the UK to escape the violent war in their homeland and the UK government has tried to remove those who have committed crimes while in Britain, as well as those not thought to have genuine asylum claims.

However, this latest ruling may mean that more asylum seekers from war-torn countries like the Congo will be allowed to remain, even if they commit crimes in the UK – as this might mean they could face violence if returned to their own country.

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