The applicant, an individual suffering HIV/AIDS, brought action under Article 3 (freedom from torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights when he was threatened with expulsion from UK to St Kitts where he would not have access to necessary medical treatment and no family home or close …Read more

Williams (W) was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in December 1988. His appeal was dismissed in December 1990 and a senior lawyer advised him that an application to the judicial committee of the privy council for special leave to appeal would have no prospect of success. An appeal against the classification of his …Read more

Mentes (M), T1, T2 and U lived in a village in south-east Turkey, the first three in its lower neighbourhood and the fourth in a separate hamlet. Since 1985 serious disturbances had raged in this part of the country between the security forces and the members of a Kurdish separatist party. Turkey claimed that these …Read more

Loayza Tamayo (L) had allegedly been confined in a tiny prison cell for twenty-three and a half hours a day for one year. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had requested provisional measures whereby Peru would be requested to end her solitary confinement and incommunicado detention and to return her to the pavilion of the prison …Read more

The appellant was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder arising out of two separate incidents. At the same time, he plead guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition for which he was sentenced to a total of two years’ imprisonment. Two years later, he was convicted of attempted murder, armed robbery and …Read more

Various communications alleged that: (1) Burundian nationals, who had been refugees in Rwanda for several years, were told they had one month to leave the country as they were considered national risks risks due to their “subversive activities”. The refugees were not able to challenge the expulsion in court (2) arbitrary arrests and summary executions …Read more

A group of armed persons with their faces covered by masks violently entered the home of the Mejías, abducted Mr. Mejías and later returned to the house, apparently to ask Mrs. Mejías for her husband’s identity documents. While she looked for them, one of the men followed her into the room and told her that …Read more

The prison authorities of Unit 1 of the SPF of Argentina adopted the practice of performing vaginal inspections on all female visitors who desired to have personal contact with the inmates. Ms. X, whose husband was detained at that Unit, and their thirteen year old daughter Y were thus routinely submitted to such searches each …Read more

R.S. was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On 8 March 1996, the same day that five other warrants of execution were read (although the prison was only equipped to handle two executions a day), R.S. was read a warrant for his execution, to take place on 13 March 1996. Along with a psychiatrist, …Read more

Aksoy (A) claimed that in November 1992 he was taken into custody by twenty policemen after M (another detainee with them) had allegedly identified him as a member of the PKK which was engaged in a conflict with security forces for Kurdish autonomy. This conflict had resulted in nearly 8,000 deaths and there was a …Read more

Tshishimbi (T) had been a military adviser and bodyguard for the prime minister in a government politically opposed to the president. Members of the government and their advisors had been subjected to constant surveillance, harassment and bullying from military and paramilitary groups loyal to the president. T was abducted in March 1993, although the exact …Read more

The first respondent had obtained a default judgment against the applicant and a warrant of execution against his property in respect of a debt but was unable to satisfy the judgment debt because the applicant had by that time divested himself of all property. The first respondent then took out a summons calling upon the …Read more

Members of the World Organization Against Torture filed Communication 25/89 with the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (‘the Commission’) in March 1989 alleging torture of 15 detained persons by a military unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (‘the DRC’). The Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights in New York filed Communication 47/90 with …Read more

The Appellee, Anderson, brought this challenge against two prison officials at the cell house in which he was placed. Anderson alleged that a superintendent and a guard violated his constitutional right to privacy and the Illinois AIDS Confidentiality Act by revealing that he was infected with the AIDS virus to an inmate sleeping in Anderson’s …Read more

The petitioner, a Canadian citizen, was arrested along with two acquaintances when the group attempted to enter Spain with large quantities of hashish concealed in their vehicle. The petitioner claimed to have no knowledge of the contraband, and his acquaintances also told police that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the examining magistrate incarcerated …Read more

Francis (F) had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death in February 1980. An appeal was dismissed in November 1981 and in October 1987 a note of the oral judgment was produced but nothing written was issued. His lawyers had apparently stated that they could find no grounds to argue on his behalf with …Read more

Peart and Peart (A and G) were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1988. They claimed that their conviction was based on the uncorroborated evidence of an eyewitness, evidence which had conflicted with a written statement previously made to the police but which they had not been allowed to see before or during …Read more

Simms (S) was awaiting execution following his conviction for murder in 1988 which was based on identification evidence. S complained about weaknesses in the identification evidence, the failure of the judge to direct the jury properly about that evidence, the inadequacy of the representation provided by his legal aid lawyer, the absence of an opportunity …Read more

Mrs. López Ostra brought an action against Spain due to environmental pollution from a nearby waste treatment plant. López Ostra lived adjacent to the plant, which was operating without a license. The plant malfunctioned on start-up, and released gas fumes and unpleasant smells. These caused health problems and were a nuisance to the local people. …Read more

The applicant was serving a sentence of life imprisonment in HM Prison Stocken.  He had been convicted of the murder of an elderly man in 1972 and received a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.  The applicant’s sentence was reviewed by the Parole Board in or about 1984. A release date was apparently set and he …Read more

In a communication submitted to the United Nations Humans Right Committee (“UNHRC”), Yvonne M’Boissona asserted that her brother, François Bozize, led a coup d’état in the Central African Republic in 1982. After fleeing the country, he was arrested in July 1989 in Benin, repatriated to the Central African Republic by force, and imprisoned at a …Read more

The parents of a mentally-disabled woman requested that the court authorize the sterilization of their daughter.  According to the Article 428 of the Criminal Code made in accordance with Article 6 LO 3/89 of 21 June (the “challenged provision”), sterilization of a disabled person who suffered from serious psychological deficiency would not be unlawful if the …Read more

Women inmates in the District of Columbia (D.C.) correctional system alleged that they were being mistreated in a variety of ways, including sexual harassment, failure to provide or inadequate levels of obstetrical and gynecological care, unequal educational and work-related programming  as compared to similarly situated male inmates, uneven recreational and religious time, and general inhumane …Read more

Mika Miha (M), having twice previously left Equatorial Guinea for asylum abroad, had returned in 1988 to support the activities of an opposition party to which he belonged. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested by members of the security forces. The only explanation given was that his detention had been ordered by the president. For the …Read more

El-Megreisi (E) alleged that his family home was searched at dawn by the security police and that his brother, having been asked to leave with them to assist in an unspecified security matter, never returned. He also alleged that after over three years had elapsed, his brother’s wife was allowed to visit him in a …Read more

The petitioners challenged the constitutionality of a law (Act XII of 1991 on Revision of Certain Pensions and Terminating Certain Pension Supplements (the “Act”)) that annulled the distribution of pension supplements which were given to individuals based on certain honors or honorary titles associated with achievements in science, sport or art, or service in specific …Read more

Kanana Tshiongo A Minanga (K), a founder of a political party opposed to the governing regime of President Mobutu, complained that he was taken by members of the Zairian defense forces to the headquarters of the political police supposedly to meet the director and then held overnight without any reason being given. While there, he …Read more

Applicant, a Hungarian national, served a prison sentence during which he assaulted prison officers, other detainees and threatened judges. He served a six-month pre-detention period in a facility for mentally ill offenders where he remained until his conditional release. He claims that his rights pursuant to Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights …Read more

The plaintiffs brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and about 6,000 other homeless persons against the City of Miami, Florida. They claimed that by arresting and seizing the property of the plaintiffs, the City’s police officers violated the plaintiffs’ rights under the United States and Florida Constitutions. The plaintiffs claimed that it …Read more

A woman consecutively shot her partner three times. She was charged with aggravated homicide.  She claimed self-defense, alleging to have been subjected to continuous domestic violence and abuse. The ruling of the Court of First Instance justified her action and she was acquitted. The prosecutor appealed the decision on grounds that the woman’s response was …Read more