Expulsion revoked

Case no. 28/2021
Order made on 11 October 2022

The Prosecution Service
vs.
T

In 2019, T had been found guilty of attempted murder of his mother. He was exempted from punishment due to mental illness and sentenced to treatment in a psychiatric ward. He was also expelled with a permanent entry ban. When the treatment facility determined that the treatment of T was completed and he was eligible for discharge for outpatient treatment, the issue of expulsion was referred to the courts for reconsideration. The District Court and the High Court upheld the expulsion.

After the High Court’s ruling, the European Court of Human Rights passed its judgment in the case of Savran vs Denmark. This case concerned the issue of whether expulsion of the alien would be in contravention of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to respect for private and family life. In that case, the European Court of Human Rights stated that if the alien had been exempted from punishment due to diminished criminal culpability because of mental illness, this had to be considered in the assessment of whether it would be proportionate to expel him.

In T’s case, the Supreme Court determined that, since T was born and raised in Denmark, there had to be very compelling reasons to expel him. Based on an overall assessment, the Supreme Court found that it would not be justified to expel T, including with only a temporary entry ban.

The Supreme Court based its decision on the fact that T had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and that his mental health had deteriorated up to the time of the crime. It also considered that he had no previous convictions, that his treatment was successful, that the relationship with his parents and siblings, who live in Denmark, had been mended and was healthy, and that, according to a statement from the treatment facility, this contributed to maintaining his positive development and stable mental state. T had completed upper secondary school, had taken up engineering studies and worked as a volunteer in a youth association, just as he had had different student jobs.

During the time of the hearing of the case before the Supreme Court, T had left Denmark for Turkey. The Supreme Court stated that this, all other things being equal, must have strengthened his ties to Turkey, but that his ties to Denmark still had to be regarded as much stronger than his ties to Turkey.