Information Note on the Court’s case-law 15
February 2000
Dougoz v. Greece (dec.) - 40907/98
Decision 8.2.2000 [Section III]
Article 3
Inhuman treatment
Conditions of detention pending expulsion: admissible
Article 5
Article 5-1-f
Expulsion
Length and lawfulness of detention pending expulsion: admissible
Article 5-4
Review of lawfulness of detention
Absence of possibility of challenging lawfulness of detention pending expulsion: admissible
The applicant, a Syrian national, was allegedly sentenced to death in absentia in Syria. He had fled to Greece, where he was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment on several occasions, notably for drug-related offences. While in Greece, he was granted refugee status by the UNHCR. In June 1997, while serving a prison sentence, he asked to be sent back to Syria and claimed that he had been granted a reprieve there. In July 1997, following a decision ordering his release on licence and his expulsion to Syria, he was released and placed in police detention pending his expulsion. He claimed that the conditions of his detention pending expulsion were appalling, referring to, inter alia, overcrowding, poor hygiene and lack of room for physical exercise. He then applied for the expulsion order to be lifted and complained about his continued detention. In April 1998, he was transferred to the police headquarters where the conditions of detention remained very bad, as confirmed by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment in a recent report. The courts refused to lift the expulsion order, on the ground that the applicant had previously claimed that he was no longer subject to persecution in Syria, but no express ruling was made concerning the lawfulness of his continued detention. In December 1998, the applicant was eventually expelled to Syria, where he was reportedly placed in detention upon arrival.
Admissible under Articles 3, 5 § 1 (f) and § 4.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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