Exchange Chambers

Exchange Chambers Barrister Successful In First Deportation Case of its Kind

Louis Browne, a barrister at Exchange Chambers, has this week won a ground-breaking deportation case.
Louis, acting for the Secretary of State for the Home Department, successfully resisted a claim for judicial review from an Albanian refugee who claimed that his detention in prison after his prison sentence was completed but before his deportation could take effect was unlawful.
Dritan Krasniqi was an ethnic Albanian from Kosovo. Born in Kosovo on 26 July 1982, Krasniqi entered the UK on 24 November 1998 during the war in Kosovo when he was 16.
He was granted refugee status on 26 May 1999, but on 15 March 2005 he was convicted of a number of offences including ABH, and was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison.
On 24 September 2008, Krasniqi was convicted of assault and possession of a bladed instrument in public and was sentenced to a further 30 months imprisonment. On 4 September 2009, he was entitled to be released from his prison sentence but was kept in detention pending deportation.
Mr Browne explains:
"The law regarding deportation of refugees that have been convicted of serious crimes is that the refugee may be expelled from the country if considered a danger to the community and they can safely be returned to the country from which they fled.
"In his 12 years in the UK, Mr Krasniqi committed serial offences that grew in seriousness. The Secretary of state argued successfully that he could now safely be returned to Kosovo, since there had been an enduring change in the political and social landscape in that country."
Nevertheless, Mr Krasniqi argued that his detention whilst awaiting deportation was unlawful and arbitrary. He contended that his detention period of almost 1 year was unreasonable, but Judge Waksman QC disagreed and ruled that an immigration detention period of this length was not considered unreasonable given his risks of reoffending and absconding.
Mr Krasniqi's other argument that his detention in prison as opposed to in an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) was arbitrary and violated his right to liberty and security was also dismissed.
The Judge stated that, whilst the Secretary of State for the Home Department could have transferred Mr Krasniqi to an IRC sooner, the fact that he did not do so did not breach his human rights.
Concluded Louis:
"This was a complex case and was the first time where the high court was concerned with a deportation decision arising because of automatic deportation provisions in the law, but where the deportee already possessed refugee status.
"It is likely to have important consequences for people in a similar position to Mr Krasniqi."

Notes:
Mr Krasniqi served his 30 month prison sentence at HMP Ranby. He was kept in detention there pending deportation before being transferred to HMP Nottingham on 12 October 2009.
On 10 June 2010 he was transferred to Lindholme Immigration Removal Centre and was moved to Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre on 14 July where he remains.