Case summaries
Greek detention conditions and lack of effective review violate Iranian asylum seeker’s Article 3 and Article 13 rights, but complaint against removal declared inadmissible and detention ruled to be lawful and non-arbitrary.
This High Court ruling is in relation to a deportation order issued to remove three failed asylum seekers from Ireland. The case also deals with unlawful detention under Art. 40.4.2 of the Constitution and the inviolability of the dwelling under Art 40.5 of the Constitution.
The Court examined the complaints of a Somali national concerning her detention conditions in Malta (Article 3), which deteriorated her mental health and resulted in inhuman and degrading treatment. She further alleged that her detention was in breach of Article 5 § 1, 2 and 4 (Right to liberty and security).
The case examined the allegations of a Sudanese national, detained for fifteen days in two police stations in Greece after applying for asylum, that his placement in detention was unlawful (Article 5 para 1) and his detention conditions were inhuman (Article 3).
The detention of an unaccompanied minor for two months, mostly in an adult detention centre, and without effective administrative review, violated the Applicant’s rights under Article 5(1) and Article 5(4). The Court rejected related complaints under Articles 3 and 9.
This was a decision on appeal against detention under Articles 76(3) et seq of Law 3386/2005 and 30(2) of Law 3907/2011. It concerned an act to halt an asylum application, Non-attendance at the personal interview at the primary examination of the application was deemed to be tacit withdrawal of the application to be granted asylum. The Applicant was arrested due to the absence of legal documentation and decisions to detain and return were issued. Mental illness associated with the return process was considered.
A judicial decision lifted the detention order so as to not worsen the health condition of the Applicant. Imposition of restrictions and a deadline for leaving Greece were discussed.
The case concerns a Syrian Kurd’s detention by Cypriot authorities and his intended deportation to Syria after an early morning police operation on 11 June 2010 removing him and other Kurds from Syria from an encampment outside government buildings in Nicosia in protest against the Cypriot Government’s asylum policy.
The Court found a violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights taken together with Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) due to the lack of an effective remedy with automatic suspensive effect to challenge the applicant’s deportation; a violation of Article 5 §§ 1 and 4 (right to liberty and security) of the Convention due to the unlawfulness of the applicant’s entire period of detention with a view to his deportation without an effective remedy at his disposal to challenge the lawfulness of his detention.
The case examines the allegations of an Afghan national that the extension of his detention for an additional two months had been unlawful and contrary to Article 5(1) of the Convention and that he had not had at his disposal an effective remedy for the review of his detention in violation of Article 5(4) ECHR.