Scottish Human Rights Law Group

An Iranian asylum seeker was detained pending deportation and remained in detention for almost 34 months due to his continued failure to co-operate with the removal process.   The High Court held that despite his clear intention not to co-operate with removal procedures, and to remain in the UK, his continuing detention was illegal.During the period of detention the claimant refused to co-operate with deportation proceedings stating that he would rather stay in detention than return to Iran. He maintained his resistance to removal and was twice convicted and imprisoned under the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 s.35.

He sought to have his detention judicially reviewed on the basis that was no prospect of his removal with in a resonable time.   The secretary of state aruged that if the claimant co-operated with the deportation procedure, or if the Iranian authorities changed their position on the requirements for emergency travel documentation, removal of the claimant to Iran would be possible.

The Court held it was obvious that the claimant did not intend to return to Iran and that he would not do anything to facilitate any process by which that would be achieved. Furthermore, there was no evidence that Iran would relax its policy on the documentation required to faciliate such a return. Accordingly,  the Secretary of State failed to establish that there was a reasonable prospect of securing the claimant’s removal within a reasonable time.   In addition, it could not be argued that if release the claimant would present a threat to the public.  His previous criminal convictions having been related to his failure to co-operate with the deporatation process.  

The full report is available here.