An Albanian wanted for murder in his home country has won the right to remain in the U.K. under the European Convention on Human Rights, renewing calls for the U.K. to quit the treaty. The Telegraph has the story.
Fatmir Bleta, 64, left Albania two months after allegedly shooting a man in the head with a Kalashnikov rifle, for which he was convicted and sentenced in his absence to 13 years in prison [so why “allegedly”?]
He came to Britain with his family and sought asylum by falsely claiming to be Kosovan, a deception for which he was jailed for 33 months and two weeks in 2018.
Bleta, who has four children, successfully fought off an extradition attempt by Albania to serve the sentence by claiming he would not be entitled to a re-trial and was not told of the proceedings in advance.
In a new judgment – revealed in documents seen by the Telegraph – Bleta has succeeded in resisting an attempt by the Home Office to deport him on the grounds that it would breach his Article 6 rights to a fair trial under the ECHR.
He also appealed under Article 8 of the convention that deportation would breach his right to a family life as it would be “unduly harsh” on his loved ones.
The case comes after the Telegraph disclosed earlier this week that an Albanian criminal who sneaked back into Britain after being deported won the right to stay because deporting him would be “unduly harsh” on his family and breach the ECHR’s article 8.
It sparked fresh calls for the U.K. to quit or seek reform of the ECHR. Robert Jenrick, the former Immigration Minister and Tory leadership contender, said: “Yet again the ECHR has been used by activist judges to prioritise the rights of a criminal over the safety of the British public.
“It’s a disgrace. We will only be able to get the thousands of dangerous foreign criminals out of our country if we leave. Reform is a fantasy. It’s leave or remain – I’m firmly from leave.”
Kemi Badenoch, the Shadow Housing Secretary and Tory leadership rival, said the Government should be prepared to quit the ECHR if necessary but warned that such a move alone will not solve the migrant crisis.
The Telegraph has also established that two of Bleta’s children have been convicted and jailed for drug offences. Son Dorian, 37, is serving an 18-year prison sentence for trafficking cocaine while daughter Sara, 28, a former actress, was jailed for four years for supplying class A and B drugs.
Worth reading in full.
Why, after 14 years of Conservative Government failing to make headway on this, does Kemi still think we need to establish whether leaving the ECHR is necessary? How long does the party need to work this one out?
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