Othman (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom
Othman (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom was a 2012 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights which stated that under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights the United Kingdom could not lawfully deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, because of the risk of the use of evidence obtained by torture.[1]
Summary and final disposition
The ECtHR judgment overturns the 2009 House of Lords judgment RB (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department.[2][3] This case involved Deportation; Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Jordan; Memorandums of understanding; Retrials; Right to fair trial; Right to liberty and security; Torture.
Othman, aka Qatada, was born in Jordan and came to the United Kingdom in September 1993. He made an application for asylum and was recognised as a refugee on 30 June 1994 and granted leave to remain to 30 June 1998. On 8 May 1998 he applied for indefinite leave to remain.
On 23 October 2002 he was arrested and detained under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. This Act was repealed in March 2005 and the applicant was released on bail and subjected to a control order. On 11 August 2005, while his appeal against that control order was pending, the Secretary of State served the applicant with a notice of intention to deport.
Qatada was eventually deported from the UK to face retrial in Jordan after an agreement between the two countries that evidence-obtained-by-torture would be discarded. In the event, it was discarded, and Qatada was freed of all charges in September 2014.
References
- ↑ ECtHR judgment: "CASE OF OTHMAN (ABU QATADA) v. THE UNITED KINGDOM", 17 Jan 2012
- ↑ publications.parliament.uk: 2009 UKHL 2
- ↑ ukhumanrightsblog.com: "No deportation for Abu Qatada, but where are we now on torture evidence? – Professor Adam Tomkins", 19 Jan 2012
See also
- Chahal v. United Kingdom (1996), which had applied Article 3 in a similar way.