Daily Express

‘His presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good’

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system is clearly not working as it should. Had the individual been removed from the country when his leave first expired we might not be in this situation.”

The High Court heard Mohammed has spent much of the last two decades in and out of custody, mainly for serious criminal offences.

His three periods of unlawful detention are believed to have come after lawful prison terms, after which the Home Office detained him while his deportatio­n was considered.

Assessing damages in London after the Home Office conceded liability, Deputy High Court Judge Edward Pepperall said that aged 13 Mohammed suffered “unimaginab­le barbarity” while with his family in the Somali capital Mogadishu at the outbreak of civil war.

His uncle was shot dead and a girl raped in front of him before thugs sliced through his cheeks with bayonets in a bid to cut out his tongue. He was then “branded with a burning cattle prod”.

Mohammed suffered moderately severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The court heard he became a “habitual and violent criminal” in Britain and was sentenced to two different four-year terms for robbery. After it was decided to deport him in 2008, Mohammed applied to the European Court of Human Rights, citing the deteriorat­ing situation in Somalia. It directed he should not be deported until further notice.

Mohammed said the three periods of detention made him feel trapped, humiliated and hopeless.

Yesterday the judge said some might question why a foreign citizen who had abused the hospitalit­y of this country by committing serious offences was entitled to any compensati­on. He said: “First, there are few principles more important in a civilised society than that no one should be deprived of their liberty without lawful authority.

“Secondly, it is essential that where a person is unlawfully imprisoned by the state that an independen­t judiciary should hold the executive to account. Thirdly, justice should be done to all people.”

Mohammed, added the judge, was a “prolific and violent offender”. The judge added: “I can well understand why the Home Secretary might wish to deport him. She has not, however, been able to do so, largely because of the very real risk that deportatio­n to Somalia would pose.”

He said while his presence here “is not conducive to the public good… in a civilised society, he is entitled to justice. Specifical­ly, he is entitled not to be falsely imprisoned and…is now entitled to the compensati­on.”

The judge said the Home Office breached procedure by not releasing him despite clear evidence of torture while he was unlikely to be deported within a reasonable period of time.

 ?? Picture: CHAMPION NEWS ??
Picture: CHAMPION NEWS

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