UK: Judge rules against deportation of Afghan hijackers

On 10 May, a UK High Court judge ruled that the Human Rights Act prohibited the Government from deporting nine Afghan asylum seekers because they faced a risk of torture if returned to Afghanistan. The Afghans had hijacked an aircraft to travel to the UK. The Prime Minister responded to the decision by announcing plans to consider either rewriting the Human Rights Act or withdrawing from specific clauses of the European Convention on Human Rights. On 26 May, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) released a report expressing concerns over the UK policy of challenging the principle of non-refoulement.

Judgment JCHR Report Press Article 1 Press Article 2