The European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights
prevented the United Kingdom from
deporting a foreign visitor with AIDS to
his country of origin. The man had been
convicted of drug offences and had
been diagnosed with AIDS while serving
his sentence. He was due to be deported
after release from prison. The European
Court, however, accepted that the man
was terminally ill, and that his removal to
a place where adequate treatment was
not available would shorten his life and
deprive him of his right to life . His death
would not only be accelerated, it would
come about in inhuman and degrading
conditions, in violation of the right not to
be subjected to inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. The Court
found that Article 3 prohibits in absolute
terms torture or inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, and that its
guarantees apply irrespective of the
reprehensible nature of the conduct of
the person in question.