18 May 2007

By Anna Jenkinson

(Bloomberg) -- Britain's asylum procedures will come under scrutiny today at the European Court of Human Rights as an Iraqi national challenges a decision by immigration authorities to hold him in detention for ``administrative efficiency.''

Shayan Baram Saadi arrived at Heathrow Airport in London on Dec. 30, 2000, followed the necessary procedures and was granted temporary admission. After being free for several days, he was then detained for a week. Saadi, 31 this year, complained to the European court that his detention and the lack of explanation at the time breached his rights.

``This case is about simple human dignity and freedom,'' Alex Gask, a legal officer for civil rights group Liberty, which intervened in the case, said before the hearing. ``People should never be imprisoned for nothing more than administrative convenience, whether they are British citizens or non-nationals fleeing persecution overseas.''

Human rights groups say that immigration control has increasingly become a way to combat terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. Today's case, which is being heard by the Strasbourg, France-based court's highest chamber, will examine which grounds are acceptable for detaining a person and what amount of time is reasonable for such a detention.

Saadi, a medical doctor, was held between Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, 2001, at the Oakington Reception Centre, which was set up to handle U.K. asylum applications that could be dealt with quickly and where there was no risk of the applicant fleeing. The site, which has high perimeter fences, locked gates and 24-hour security guards, has a canteen, medical center and space for outdoor recreation, according to the court.

A lower chamber reached a unanimous verdict in July last year that Saadi hadn't been informed promptly of the reasons for his arrest, which was a breach of his rights. However, the chamber ruled by four votes to three that his right to liberty and security hadn't been violated.

Under the European Convention on Human Rights, a person can be held to prevent ``an unauthorized entry into the country.'' The chamber said such a detention doesn't have to be ``reasonably considered necessary.''

``All that is required is that the detention should be a genuine part of the process to determine whether the individual should be granted immigration clearance and/or asylum, and that it should not otherwise be arbitrary, for example on account of its length,'' the court ruled.

Liberty has said it fears the ruling is seen as ``a green light'' for the government to detain asylum-seekers ``for significant periods of time.'' Judge Nicolas Bratza, one of the seven judges to rule in July 2006, said at the time that while he agreed with the majority verdict he recognized ``the concern felt that a person should be deprived of his liberty for reasons essentially of administrative efficiency and the risks of arbitrariness which such detention may entail.'' He said that detaining a person ``significantly in excess of'' seven days wouldn't be acceptable.

Three of the judges -- Josep Casadevall, Kristaq Traja and Jan Sikuta -- wrote a joint dissenting opinion to the ruling. They emphasized that Saadi had followed all the instructions given to him by the authorities and didn't misuse the system. ``The possibility of detaining an asylum seeker at any time during the asylum procedure on the ground that it was to `prevent his effecting an unauthorized entry into the country' would represent great legal uncertainty for the person concerned,'' they said.

``The true reason'' for Saadi's detention ``was purely based on administrative or bureaucratic grounds,'' they said.

The case is Saadi v. the United Kingdom, 13229/03.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Jenkinson in Strasbourg via ajenkinson@bloomberg.net

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