The applicant, a Tamil threatened to commit suicide if returned to Sri Lanka. It had been accepted by the Home Secretary that he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and depression. The medical evidence was that ‘His prognosis (was) presently extremely uncertain . . he had attempted suicide. Though the shock of being refused asylum had been a precipitant, the significant predisposing factors relate to his traumatic experiences. These had then led to his depressive illness the onset of which could be established to the period when he was detained by the Sri Lankan army . . He continues to present with a risk of suicide. This could be aggravated if he had to return to Sri Lanka. Such risk would be high as a result of his knowing that the Home Office would return him to Sri Lanka.’ and ‘if [J] is sent back to Sri Lanka the risk of exacerbating his existing suicidal ideation is greatly increased because he is likely to have lost all hope. Hopelessness has a serious, significant association with completed suicide. In my opinion, if he does not manage to kill himself in the UK there is a high risk that he would try to commit suicide en route and may therefore pose a threat to other passengers in his desperation to kill himself.
If he is prevented from killing himself either in the UK or while being returned I think it is likely that he would commit suicide upon his arrival in Sri Lanka to avoid falling into the hands of the authorities from whom he perceives he is in mortal danger.’
Held: The claim under Article 3 failed. When deciding whether there was a real risk of a breach of article 3 in a suicide case, a question of importance was whether the fear of ill-treatment upon which the suicide was said to be based, was objectively well founded.
Judges:
Brooke VP, Dyson, Lloyd LJJ
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Civ 629, [2005] Imm AR 409
Links:
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 3
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Y (Sri Lanka) and Another v Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 29-Apr-2009
The applicants appealed against orders for them to be returned to Sri Lanka where they would be subject to arrest and where there were uncontested findings that they had already been tortured and raped whilst in official custody before fleeing Sri . .
Cited – McKinnon, Regina (On the Application of) v Secretary Of State for Home Affairs Admn 31-Jul-2009
Assurances for Extradition
Extradition of the defendant was sought to the US to face allegations of hacking into defence computers there. He said this would infringe his article 3 rights, saying that he suffered Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Held: The application failed. US . .
Cited – AN (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for The Home Department CA 6-Jul-2010
The claimant appealed against refusal of indefinite leave to remain. She said that she feared if she returned to Pakistan she would be subject to domestic violence. Though her husband had received prison sentences of three years for offences of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Immigration, Human Rights
Updated: 29 August 2022; Ref: scu.225264