Daily Mail
December 20, 2013
A Somali criminal with a history of violence has been allowed to walk free today after a High Court judge ruled detaining him longer would breach his human rights.
Abdi Ismail, 33, has been convicted of a string of crimes since arriving in Britain in 1993, including racially aggravated threatening behaviour and assault on police.
In 2011, he was sentenced to a 15-month jail term for assault and told he would be deported after attacking a friend with a knife.
But a High Court judge ruled today that the criminal had been detained for too long and ordered his release. A deportation hearing is expected to be held at a later date.
Home Office ‘incompetence’ was listed among the reasons behind the decision.
It is understood that Ismail is also planning to sue Britain over his treatment using Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mrs Justice Lang said the Somali, who has two children, had to be freed due to Home Office “incompetence” and a poor standard of investigation by the UK Border Agency.
The Home Office’s lack of ‘due diligence’ had prolonged his detention unreasonably, the judge added.
Ismail was detained for a total of 18 months and was held pending deportation following a conviction for assault.
Under the 2007 Borders Act, those from outside the EU sentenced to at least a year in jail should face automatic deportation to their home country.
A bid by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to continue to detain him further failed.
The 33 year-old arrived in the United Kingdom in 1993 after members of his family fled to escape civil war in Somalia.