FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 1682/07
by Abdul ALNOUR
against the United Kingdom
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 14 December 2010 as a Chamber composed of:
Ljiljana Mijović, President,
Nicolas Bratza,
David Thór Björgvinsson,
Ján Šikuta,
Päivi Hirvelä,
Ledi Bianku,
Mihai Poalelungi, judges,
and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 10 January 2007,
Having regard to the interim measure indicated to the respondent Government under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court,
Having regard to the decision to grant priority to the above application under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Abdul Alnour, is a Sudanese national who was born in 1976 and lives in Strathaven. He was represented before the Court by Ms J Savic of Sutovic & Hartigan Solicitors, a lawyer practising in London. The United Kingdom Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Grainger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
The applicant claimed asylum in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2006 on the basis that he had been a military leader of the Justice and Equality Movement and was of Zaghawa ethnicity. On 1 September 2006 his asylum claim was rejected as his credibility was doubted and it was considered that he could viably relocate to Khartoum. The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal dismissed his appeal on 13 September 2006 and his application for reconsideration of the Adjudicator’s decision was refused by a Senior Immigration Judge on 19 September 2006. Removal directions were set for 4 December 2006 but were cancelled due to the applicant’s disruptive behaviour.
On 4 December 2006, and again on 4 January 2007, the Secretary of State for the Home Office declined to consider further representations by the applicant as a fresh claim for asylum.
Removal directions were set for 21 January 2007 but were cancelled on 19 January 2007 when the Court indicated interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complained that his removal to Sudan would violate his rights under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention.
THE LAW
By letter dated 9 April 2010 the Government informed the Court that the applicant had been granted asylum in the United Kingdom and therefore had five years’ leave to remain. On expiry of this leave, the applicant would be eligible to apply for a grant of further leave. Consequently, the Government requested that the application should be struck out.
On 13 April 2010 the Court wrote to the applicant’s representatives, asking if he wished to withdraw his application to the Court. As no reply was received, the Court wrote to both the applicant and his representative on 18 October 2010, enclosing the Government’s letter of 9 April 2010 and informing them that if they did not contact the Court before 1 November 2010, it would assume that the applicant consented to the application being struck out of the list. These letters were sent by recorded delivery but neither the applicant nor his representative has replied.
The Court considers that, in these circumstances, the applicant may be regarded as no longer wishing to pursue his application within the meaning of Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine, the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require the continued examination of the case.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list and to discontinue the application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Fatoş AracıLjiljana Mijović
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy