ECtHR, XX v. Italy, No.25716/09, 2011
- 2011
- Italy
Topics
Membership in a terrorist organisationLegal bases
European Convention on Human RightsCourts
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)Laws
Torture, degrading and inhuman and treatment Right to respect for private and family life Right of individual petitionFacts
The applicant is a Tunisian national who was born in 1965 and lives in Tunisia. He is married to an Italian national and has three young children. Following criminal proceedings brought against the applicant in 2003, the Milan Court of Appeal sentenced him on 23 October 2007 to six years’ imprisonment for international terrorism; this ruling was upheld by the Court of Cassation on 11 June 2008. On 18 May 2009 Mr XX, whose sentence had been remitted, was released. The same day, the Prefect of Crotone issued an order for the applicant’s removal to Tunisia. Later that day the European Court of Human Rights, to which Mr XX had made a request for interim measures (application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court)3, indicated to the Italian Government that he should not be deported until further notice, in the interest of the parties and the conduct of the proceedings. On 19 May 2009 the applicant was placed in a temporary detention centre with a view to his deportation. The Registry of the Court, which had been informed by Mr XX’s lawyer, reminded the Italian authorities of the content of the interim measure it had indicated the previous day. On 20 May 2009 the Justice of the Peace of Crotone validated the removal order but ordered a 30-day stay of execution. On 21 June 2009 Mr XX requested refugee status; his request was turned down on 7 July. On 24 July the Registry of the Court, having been informed by Mr XX’s lawyer that the applicant’s removal was imminent, again reminded the Italian authorities of the interim measure it had indicated to them. On an order by the Crotone chief of police, approved by the Crotone Justice of the Peace, Mr XX was deported on 2 August 2009. In the meantime, on 25 June 2009, the Italian authorities had obtained diplomatic assurances from the Tunisian authorities (respect for the applicant’s dignity, guarantee of a fair trial and of the right to receive visits and medical treatment). The document stated that Mr XX was not being prosecuted for terrorist offences. The applicant claimed that he had been arrested on his arrival in Tunisia, tortured during his detention and released after ten days on an undertaking to remain silent. He added that he had been continually threatened by the police. The Italian Government, on the basis of the information provided by the Tunisian authorities, maintained that Mr XX had been detained for only three days while he awaited questioning in a case linked to international terrorism, and that he had not been subjected to ill-treatment.
Legal grounds
Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court (Interim measures); Article 3 of the ECHR; Article 8 of the ECHR; Article 34 of the ECHR.
Findings
Basing its findings on the conclusions it had reached in a previous case, which were confirmed by Amnesty International’s 2008 report on Tunisia, the Court considered that substantial grounds had been shown for believing that the applicant faced a real risk of being subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 in Tunisia. In any event, regard being had to all the evidence in its possession, it considered that the information provided by the Government was not capable of reassuring the Court as to the manner in which the Italian authorities had assessed the well-foundedness of the applicant’s fears at the time of his deportation. The Court therefore held that the carrying-out of the applicant’s deportation to Tunisia had been in breach of Article 3 of the Convention. It further found a violation of Article 34 of the Convention because the fact that the applicant had been removed from Italian jurisdiction had amounted to hindrance of the effective exercise by his right of individual petition.