Fury has erupted after a Romanian rapist who hid his convictions used human rights laws to avoid being deported. The sex offender claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and used Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to challenge plans to send him back to Romania.
The High Court heard he arrived in Britain in December 2018 after serving almost seven years in jail in Romania for rape. The man, known only as ZA, applied for settled status on the basis he had a partner here but did not tell the authorities of his previous convictions.
The migrant, who was granted anonymity, said he was attacked and raped in prison and that the “physical or mental condition … is such that it would be unjust or oppressive” to extradite him.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “This is yet another bonkers example of where the ECHR has stifled the UK’s ability to protect its own people.
“Reform has been clear that we will deport all foreign criminals.
“We must leave the ECHR and take control of our borders once and for all.”
Former immigration minister Kevin Foster told the Daily Express: “Another day, another dangerous criminal citing human rights to avoid being deported, with the courts more concerned about protecting him than potential victims.
“Romania is an EU member and a democracy. It’s time to stop the nonsense in our courts, end the ability to make ridiculous claims under the ECHR and get criminals like this on a plane.”
When ZA visited Bucharest in 2021, he committed a driving offence before returning to the UK.
A warrant for his arrest was issued by the Romanian courts and he faced serving an extra two years in jail for the new offence.
He was arrested by the Metropolitan Police five months later.
He then faced an extradition hearing in London where a judge ruled it was in the public interest to deport him.
He was no longer with his partner and had children in Romania.
But a judge ruled he should not be deported after hearing he was attacked in prison.
The High Court heard that he was raped, burnt with hot metal, stabbed with pieces of metal, bitten by another prisoner and punched, causing a broken nose and two lost teeth.
A doctor who assessed him for PTSD said ZA would need “considerable medical knowledge to fabricate the symptoms of PTSD”.
He said: “Returning him to a Romanian prison is likely to significantly aggravate symptoms of PTSD given that it would mean returning him to an environment where he experienced the trauma that caused symptoms of PTSD to develop.
“I think there is a possibility that he will become overwhelmed with distress and thoughts of suicide, leading to a significant risk that he will attempt to end his life.”
It was deemed “likely impossible” that the treatment given in a Romanian prison would alleviate his anxiety.
In allowing ZA’s appeal, Mr Justice Martin Chamberlain concluded: “The reports presented make a decisive difference to the outcome of the case.
“I must decide for myself whether extradition would be oppressive and incompatible with Article 8 of the ECHR. To both questions, the answer is yes.
“It would, in my judgement, be oppressive to extradite the appellant to Romania to serve a two-year sentence for driving without a licence.
“In this case, the offence is, on any view, at the lower end of the scale of seriousness, particularly where – as here – the appellant has already served three years and four months under curfew.”