A foreign armed bank robber has won the right to live in Britain after claiming that deportation would breach his human rights.
The Syrian man, 55, who was granted anonymity by the court, was jailed for 12 years for trying to rob the bank and for possession of a firearm in 2006.
He used a false identity from a different country for the first nine years of his life in the UK after he entered the country in 2002.
When threatened with deportation in 2011, he claimed asylum under his real identity just as civil war broke out in Syria with the uprising against Bashar al-Assad, the country’s president.
He claimed that he would be persecuted if he was deported to Syria, which would be a breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and of EU rules granting asylum seekers protection from the threats of war in their home countries.
The Home Office granted him temporary leave to remain during the civil war, up until November 2019. This was a month after a peace deal was agreed between Kurd forces and Assad. The UK Government then reactivated its deportation order against the Syrian bank robber.
But despite being described as “unreliable” and a “danger” to the public due to the “severity” of his offence, an upper immigration tribunal judge ruled that the risk of him being persecuted in Syria outweighed the public interest in deporting him.
The judge rejected an appeal by the Home Office seeking to deport him, effectively granting him the right to permanent residency in the UK.
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister and Tory leadership contender, said it was further evidence that the UK should quit the ECHR.
“This man lied his way into our country and then lied for years before he decided to reveal his true identity. And that only came after he tried to rob a bank at gunpoint. We are a laughing stock,” said Mr Jenrick.
“Dangerous criminals like this man should be kicked out and the fact the ECHR protects them is a disgrace. We can guarantee people’s rights with our own laws and make sure they don’t protect foreign robbers, rapists and murderers. This shouldn’t be controversial – we must leave the ECHR. No more excuses.”
False identity
The Syrian was arrested by police in 2006, four years after entering the UK, when he was caught trying to rob a bank.
He gave police a false name, nationality and date of birth before being tried a year later at Kingston Crown Court.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for robbery and two years for possession of a firearm.
While in prison, he tried to claim asylum using a false identity. He finally revealed his true identity in 2011 when he applied for a voluntary return scheme to Syria while still in prison.
He withdrew his asylum claim but when confronted with a signed deportation order, he re-submitted his asylum claim.
No remorse
With the outbreak of civil war in Syria, he was granted three successive periods of discretionary leave, the last of which expired in November 2019 when he was reissued with the deportation order.
He successfully challenged the deportation at an initial and upper tribunal on the basis that he would be persecuted if he was returned to Syria, even though the Home Office argued there was no such risk to him in Damascus.
The Home Office said he had shown no remorse for the attack, was not a credible witness and was still a danger to the public, although the court was told he had a job, had not committed any further offences since the attempted bank robbery and had accommodation.
The decision follows a series of similar recent cases including an Albanian wanted for murder in his home country and another who sneaked back into Britain after being deported and won the right to stay in the UK under the ECHR.