Physician María Teresa De La Cruz Flores was detained on March 27, 1996, and charged with terrorism for providing medical services to members of Sendero Luminoso, a guerrilla group in Peru. She was prosecuted before a secret (“faceless”) judge and sentenced on November 21, 1996, to 20 years in prison under a provision that seven …Read more

The applicant, a United Kingdom national, suffered from severe autism. He was unable to speak, his level of understanding was limited, and he lacked the ability to consent or refuse treatment. For over thirty years he had been cared for in Bournewood Hospital as an in-patient at the Intensive Behavioural Unit after which time he …Read more

The petitioner, an Italian citizen detained by Australian authorities for breach of immigration law, alleged possible violations of family rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) due to his continued detention which led to his mental health deterioration. Initially, when petitioner suffered a mental health deterioration while detained, he was released …Read more

The applicants in this case were 69 South African citizens held in Zimbabwe on a variety of charges, including the possession of and attempt to smuggle dangerous weapons. The applicants initially brought a claim before the High Court seeking to require that the South African Government: (1) take steps to have them extradited to South Africa so that …Read more

Petitioner, Sell, had a long history of mental illness. In 1998, a federal grand jury issued an indictment charging Sell with attempting to murder an FBI agent who had arrested him in connection with a separate charge of mail fraud and a former employee who planned to testify against him in the upcoming fraud case. …Read more

H, a young woman who suffered from Down’s syndrome and was severely mentally disabled, lived with her mother, BL, who was deeply distrustful of the health authorities. When her BL fell ill and H’s behaviour became increasingly disturbed H was formally admitted to hospital for assessment under section 2 (allowing mandatory commitment for mentally ill …Read more

Police officers entered a private residence in response to a report of a disturbance and came upon two men engaged in a sexual act. The men were arrested for and charged with violating a Texas state criminal law that prohibited “deviate sexual intercourse [defined as oral or anal sex] with another individual of the same sex.” …Read more

Mr. XX filed a tutela action (appeal for legal protection) against the Ministry of National Defence-School of Cadets for expelling him after discovering that he was HIV-positive during a blood donation. The discharge occurred two months before the petitioner was to be promoted to Second Lieutenant. The petitioner had passed all health exams and was found …Read more

The Bakhtiyaris, Afghani nationals, had illegally entered Australia and had been detained in a detention center. Two of the children were released into the hands of Adelaide caretakers where they remained. The Bakhtiyari family subsequently filed a complaint that their prolonged detention violated article 9 (1) (right to liberty and security of person) of the …Read more

Complainants P and M were mental health advocates, who brought the complaint on behalf of patients detained at Campama, a psychiatric unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and existing and future mental health patients detained under the Mental Health Acts of the Republic of The Gambia. Complainants alleged that legislation governing mental health in The …Read more

M described himself as a “marijuana/freedom activist” helping to operate a co-operative, non-profit association seeking to minimize the harm caused by marijuana use. The police raided the organisation’s premises and seized 300 grams of marijuana. M was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking pursuant to section 4(2) Narcotics Control Act 1985 …Read more

On June 21, 2001, the petitioner delivered a baby by the roadside and visited the second respondent’s Naguru Maternity Home/Clinic with the baby still attached to her. She received no medical care and was referred to another hospital. The petitioner was unable to walk the distance and was forced to sit outside with her newborn …Read more

Jacob was convicted of murder by the State and a mandatory death sentence by hanging was imposed on him in accordance with the domestic law of Grenada. Jacob and the deceased had been in a relationship and had lived together previously, ending their cohabitation a few months before the deceased’s death. A psychiatrist testified on …Read more

Paul Lallion appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging that his death penalty sentencing and appeal process, as well as the prison conditions he was subjected to during this process, violated Articles 4 (right to life), 5 (right to humane treatment), 7 (right to personal liberty), 8 (right to a fair trial), and …Read more

In 1984 the Quebec government created a new social assistance scheme. Section 29(a) of the Regulation Respecting Social Aid (the Regulation), made under the 1984 Social Aid Act, set the base amount of welfare payable to persons under the age of 30 at roughly one third of the base amount payable to those 30 and …Read more

Applicant, Russian national and President of the Northeast Commercial Bank, was accused of embezzlement and placed in detention. According to the applicant, he was detained in overcrowded and unsanitary cells, which occasionally contained inmates suffering from tuberculosis and syphilis. Moreover, the cells had inadequate toilet facilities, insufficient ventilation, and pest infestations. As a result the …Read more

Petitioner claimed a breach of Article 7 (freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment) and Article 9, particularly Article 9(1) (right to liberty and security of person) and Article 9(4) (a person deprived of liberty’s right to fair trial) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) when he was …Read more

At least 55 men were arrested in Cairo on grounds of their sexual orientation during a police raid of a discotheque. The raid occurred after undercover officers entered the bar and observed and filmed dancing. The police targeted men who appeared to be homosexuals or who were not accompanied by women. One man was slapped …Read more

L, who was a Latvian national, was the former chairman of the supervisory board of Latvia’s largest bank. The bank went into liquidation, causing severe damage to the national economy and the financial ruin of many. L was suspected of the offence of sabotage for having authorized the transfer of approximately 139 million euros, more …Read more

On 20 August 1996 a police officer entered a brothel owned by the first appellant in Pretoria, paid R250 to the second appellant and a salaried employee, and received a pelvic massage by the third appellant, a prostitute. All three were charged with contravening s20(1)(aA) of the Sexual Offences Act 1957 (‘the Act’) which criminalised …Read more

The case discusses the constitutionality of a statute that denied bail to people accused of rape. Marapo was arrested and charged with rape. Under Section 142(1)(i) of the Botswana Penal Code, he was not entitled to bail before trial. Marapo brought his case to the High Court, arguing that section 142(1)(i) of the Penal Code …Read more

B and W were detained in hospital after being sentenced to terms of discretionary life imprisonment. Both complained that they did not have access to a procedure by which they could challenge the lawfulness of their continued detention. B was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape in 1983. His tariff period of detention was set …Read more

The applicant was a minor who alleged that his detention in a penal institution and by failing to provide him with suitable care and accommodation violated domestic Irish law and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the “Convention”). The applicant had been in the care of the Eastern Health Board …Read more

The applicant and her son were Ukrainian nationals of Russian origin. The applicant lodged a claim before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (the Committee) on behalf of her son who by then was detained in Ukraine as a result of his conviction on Rape by the district court. His appeals to the regional and …Read more

The appellant, H, had a history of sexually violent behavior toward women, and he experienced his first imprisonment and compulsory treatment order in 1998. H had been receiving treatment at the Mason Clinic since prisoners were not permitted outpatient community treatment. In 1999, H completed his prison sentence, but none of his physicians initiated proceedings …Read more

The three applicants were mental patients held in state hospitals who had been convicted of homicide.  At the time of their convictions, the medical view was that all psychiatric conditions were treatable to an extent.  However, relevant medical knowledge had moved on, and medical advice was now that the conditions of the three applicants were …Read more

Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, a private health service provider, filled a guarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) against the Federal State requiring the judiciary to declare that the National Act 24.754 was contrary to articles 14, 17, 28 and 33 of the National Constitution. The law obliged private health service providers …Read more

The appellant owed the respondent and her daughter a maintenance debt that had accumulated to about 1.25 million New Shekel, having previously failed to pay regular maintenance and child support payments to his wife and daughter.  Being unable to afford this amount as a lump sum, he sought to have the Head of the Execution …Read more

Ms. Carmichele stayed at a friend’s place where Coetzee, a man who had previous history of violence and sexual misconduct, stalked her and walked around the house. She and her friend reported Coetzee’s abnormal behavior to the local police station but the police claimed that they could do nothing about him. Eventually one day when …Read more

Before the promulgation of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Act, 78 senators made a referral to the French constitutional court challenging the constitutionality of the new bill according to article 61 of the French Constitution. The Act had three components. It extended to 12 weeks the period of time a woman could have an abortion …Read more