The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 30 November 2010 as a Chamber composed of: Lech Garlicki, President, Nicolas Bratza, Ljiljana Mijović, David Thór Björgvinsson, Ján Šikuta, Päivi Hirvelä, Mihai Poalelungi, judges, and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar, Having regard to the above application lodged on 10 February 2009, Having deliberated, decides as follows: THE FACTS The applicant, Ms B.S. is an Iranian national who was born in 1983 and lives in Cardiff. She was represented before the Court by Duncan Moghal Solicitors, Newport. The United Kingdom Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agents, Ms H. Upton and Mr M. Kuzmicki of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2 B.S. and others v. THE UNITED KINGDOM DECISION A. The circumstances of the case The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows. The...
FOURTH SECTION DECISION AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF Application no. 7935/09 by B.S. and 232 other applications against the United Kingdom The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 30 November 2010 as a Chamber composed of: Lech Garlicki, President, Nicolas Bratza, Ljiljana Mijović, David Thór Björgvinsson, Ján Šikuta, Päivi Hirvelä, Mihai Poalelungi, judges, and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar, Having regard to the above application lodged on 10 February 2009, Having deliberated, decides as follows: THE FACTS The applicant, Ms B.S. is an Iranian national who was born in 1983 and lives in Cardiff. She was represented before the Court by Duncan Moghal Solicitors, Newport. The United Kingdom Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agents, Ms H. Upton and Mr M. Kuzmicki of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
2 B.S. and others v. THE UNITED KINGDOM DECISION A. The circumstances of the case The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows. The applicant travelled overland from Iran through Turkey and spent a week in Anatolia, trying to board a ship to Italy. She eventually managed to board a boat, and describes a situation of extreme overcrowding, filthy conditions, little food or water and violence between the crew of the ship and the other passengers. The ship appears to have broken down or been intercepted and put into port in Greece on or around 11 November 2007, where the applicant and her son, together with the other passengers were taken to hospital. She claims that around 200 of those persons also rescued from her boat were returned to their countries of origin. The applicant and her son were in hospital for seven days before being transferred to a camp. During their stay in this camp the applicant made contact with a solicitor who promised to obtain her release in exchange for the sum of 300 Euros. He gave her papers to sign and took her to be fingerprinted. They were subsequently transferred to a different camp in Athens on 23 November 2007. Here, the applicant was approached by an agent, whom she refers to as “mafia”, and who offered to help her. Instead, he took her and her son to his house, where he kept them for several weeks and subjected the applicant to physical and sexual abuse. The agent, Bajar Abdulla, was arrested in connection with people trafficking and smuggling, and it appears that the applicant was forced by his associates, by means of threats to her son, whom they had taken away from the applicant, to testify at his trial. Following the trial, she was taken elsewhere by the associates and kept as an unpaid servant, and subjected to continual threats and abuse. The applicant managed to run away on or around 12 February 2008. She eventually managed to travel over the border to Italy concealed in a truck, and from Italy travelled overland to the United Kingdom (UK), hidden in a series of vehicles. The appli...