High Court allows appeal in ZA v Romania [2025] EWHC 595 (Admin) - Ben Joyes acts for the Appellant
On 14 March 2025, Chamberlain J allowed ZA’s appeal, the case having been reopened by McGowan J last year - see [2024] EWHC 1269 Admin (s.25 EA 2003, Art. 8 ECHR).
Chamberlain J stressed that “oppression” in mental health cases is not established only by the prospect of a successful suicide attempt, particularly as in ZA’s case his suffering arose from a mental illness attributable to Romania’s failure to keep him safe from attack in prison (see XY v Netherlands [2019] EWHC 624 (Admin)).
The appeal was ultimately allowed on both grounds due to the high risk of of re-traumatisation and the fact that it would be "likely impossible” to offer effective treatment for ZA's PTSD symptoms in the environment in which it originated.
Ben Joyes of 9BR Chambers’ extradition team acted for ZA in both the full appeal and the hearing on the application to reopen. Ben was instructed by Andrea Vasiliou of ITN.
See here for the full judgment.
