An Albanian burglar who snuck back into the UK after being deported has won the right to remain after he successfully lodged a legal challenge under the the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The 32-year-old made his legal move against deportation under ECHR Article 8 – the right to a family life – after he had a baby and got married to his Lithuanian girlfriend who is living in the UK.
Ardit Binaj was originally sentenced to two and a half years in prison for burglary but was freed and deported after six months in a prisoner transfer agreement with Albania.
He had entered Britain illegally via a lorry in 2014, and the following year, he was arrested for his crime.
Binaj was jailed in 2016 for the break-in, spending 30 months behind bars before he was released six months early and sent home before crafting his return and subsequent court challenge.
The case, revealed in court documents seen and reported by the Telegraph, will revive demands for Britain to quit or seek reform of the ECHR.
Conservative leadership contender Robert Jenrick, a former immigration minister, told the outlet Binaj’s case was another example of how the ECHR prevented the UK from securing its borders.
“The convention has been stretched so far beyond recognition that it’s become a charter for criminals,” he said. “It has repeatedly offered loopholes to dangerous foreign criminals who threaten the British public so they can avoid deportation.
“Reform of Article 8 is a fantasy. The only way we can put an end to farcical cases like this is if we leave the convention altogether, and guarantee our own rights.”
The use of Article 8 rights has been a target of criticism for more than a decade for barring deportations such as that of Learco Chindamo, the murderer of the head teacher Philip Lawrence, to Italy.