D v United Kingdom (European Court of Human Rights 1997)
2nd January 1997, 12:00 pm
D pled guilty to possession of cocaine while trying to enter the United Kingdom and was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Whilst in prison he was diagnosed with HIV and as suffering from AIDS. Upon his release from prison D was placed in immigration detention pending his removal to St. Kitts. D challenged his removal, arguing that the lack of medical care for AIDS sufferers in St. Kitts violated his right to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The Court noted that every state has the right to control entry, residence and expulsion of non-citizens, but that those actions are limited by the principle of non-refoulement. Central to the Court’s decision was the advanced stage of D’s illness. The Court found that an abrupt withdrawal of the care facilities, the lack of adequate facilities in St. Kitts, and the lack of any form of moral or social support in St. Kitts would hasten D’s death and subject him to acute mental and physical suffering. The Court concluded in these exceptional circumstances D’s deportation to St. Kitts would violate the prohibition against non-refoulement.

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