Prolonged detention violates the right to security and freedom
JUDGMENT
S.M.M. v. The United Kingdom 22-06-2017 (no. 77450/12)
SUMMARY
Detention with a view to deportation for two years and ten months. Infringement of Article 5 § 1 (f) (Right to liberty and security) of the European Convention because his detention was arbitrary and disproportionate due to its excessive duration.
PROVISION
Article 5 § 1
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, S.M.M., is a Zimbabwean national who lives in London. Relying on Article 5 § 1 (f) (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention, he claimed that he had been detained unlawfully between November 2008 and September 2011. He was detained during that time on the basis that he was awaiting deportation from the UK. In September 2011 he was released on bail and one year later he was granted asylum in the country. He argued that the authorities had detained him unlawfully, by failing to apply regulations requiring the release of persons detained under immigration rules who had been victims of torture or who had been suffering from a serious mental illness. He also claimed that it had been unlawful to detain him on the grounds that he had been awaiting deportation, given that there had been a moratorium on enforced removals to Zimbabwe imposed by the Secretary of State up until October 2010. Finally, S.M.M. argued that his detention had been arbitrary and disproportionate, due to its excessive length.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 5 § 1
Just satisfaction: The Court held tha the finding of a violation constituted sufficient just satisfaction for any damage suffered by S.M.M. It further awarded him 7,000 euros (EUR) for costs and expenses
