Romanian rapist wanted in his homeland for driving offence avoids deportation after judge told sending him back would aggravate his PTSD
A convicted Romanian rapist living in Britain - who is wanted in his homeland for a driving offence - has claimed it would be 'unjust' to send him back because he was previously abused in prison there.
The sex offender, whose identity has been withheld by the courts, arrived in Britain in December 2018 after serving almost seven years for rape.
The man, known only as ZA, applied for settled status on the basis he had a partner here, but did not tell authorities about his convictions.
When he visited Bucharest in 2021 he committed a driving offence before returning to the UK.
An arrest warrant was issued by the Romanian courts and he faced serving an extra two years in jail for the new offence - he was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police five months later.
The man then faced an extradition hearing in London where a judge ruled it was in the public interest to deport him.
But before he could be returned home, ZA - who was no longer with his partner and had children in Romania - claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and used Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights to challenge the ruling.
He said the abuse he had previously suffered in prison caused him panic attacks and that the 'physical or mental condition... is such that it would be unjust or oppressive' to extradite him.
A convicted Romanian rapist living in Britain - who is wanted in his homeland for a driving offence - has claimed it would be 'unjust' to send him back
Appearing at High Court in London it was said that ZA had suffered abuse and ill-treatment during his time in jail in Romania.
It was said that he was raped, burnt with hot metal, stabbed with pieces of metal, bitten by another prisoner and punched, causing a broken nose and two lost teeth.
A doctor who assessed him for PTSD said ZA would need 'considerable medical knowledge to fabricate the symptoms of PTSD'.
He said: 'Returning him to a Romanian prison is likely to significantly aggravate symptoms of PTSD given that it would mean returning him to an environment where he experienced the trauma that caused symptoms of PTSD to develop.
'I think there is a possibility that he will become overwhelmed with distress and thoughts of suicide, leading to a significant risk that he will attempt to end his life.'
It was deemed 'likely impossible' that the treatment given in a Romanian prison would alleviate his anxiety.
The man said the abuse he previously suffered in prison caused him panic attacks and that the 'physical or mental condition...is such that it would be unjust or oppressive' to extradite him
In allowing ZA's appeal, Mr Justice Martin Chamberlain concluded: 'The reports presented make a decisive difference to the outcome of the case.
'I must decide for myself whether extradition would be oppressive and incompatible with Article 8 of the ECHR. To both questions, the answer is yes.
'It would, in my judgment, be oppressive to extradite the appellant to Romania to serve a two-year sentence for driving without a licence.
'In this case, the offence is, on any view, at the lower end of the scale of seriousness, particularly where - as here - the appellant has already served three years and four months under curfew.'
