Henao v The Netherlands (European Court of Human Rights 2003)
2nd January 2003, 12:00 pm
Henao, a Colombian national, was sentenced to two years for carrying drugs into the Netherlands. As an non-citizen, he was under orders for deportation once his sentence was served. While serving his sentence, he was found to be HIV-positive and received anti-retroviral treatment. Before his release from prison Henao requested the Minister of Justice to lift his deportation order in light of the prohibitive cost of anti-retroviral treatment in Colombia. This request was denied. Henao appealed to the European Court of Human Rights claiming that his right to non-refoulement would be violated if he was sent back to Colombia.

The Court affirmed, holding that Henao’s medical condition was not such that his expulsion would amount to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if returned to Colombia. The Court noted the importance of conducting individualized inquiries in non-refoulement cases, taking into account not only intentional state action which may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment but also non-state action that may be relevant to the individualized inquiry.

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