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they treated me like an animal. I was at the airport to be deported, not being able to walk, stumbling on one foot.
The main respondent is a man from Algeria, aged between 30-40. He was in the asylum process in the Netherlands. He was taken to detention in July 2024, without the reasons being explained to him. When he was in the detention centre on of the officers told him ‘you have a great problem with COA’ [Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers] and nothing more. The respondent informed reporters that he spent 1,5 month in total in detention. During this time, the authorities attempted to deport him twice. The third deportation took place.
During the first deportation, the respondent states he was rejected from boarding the plan by the cabincrew because they saw he had an injured leg and saw him unfit to travel.
Schipol airport, from where the deportation attempts took place
The respondent reports that he had significant pain on the bottom of foot, caused by a (bacterial?) infection that meant that he could not walk. Two days prior to the deportation date, the respondent had asked to see a doctor, but the IND had refused in case that would postpone his deportation. During the deportation attempt, the airline crew from the plane said the respondent wouldn’t be fit to travel.
The individual was taken back to the detention centre and was eventually allowed to see a Doctor. The doctor determined he had an infection at the bottom of his foot, and asked him how it was possible that the authorities had tried to deport him while his foot was in such a bad state.
During the second deportation, his foot had healed but there was a Microsoft blackout so planes didn’t fly that day. During the third deportation, the respondent was so defeated that he asked the IOM for a voluntary return, and the deportation took place.
legal analysis
The respondent was detained without explanation, which may violate Article 5(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which requires authorities to inform detainees of the reasons for their detention in a language they understand. Lack of clear justification for detention could also breach Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees protection against arbitrary detention.
The refusal to provide medical treatment despite an apparent infection may breach Article 3 of the ECHR, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in multiple cases that depriving detainees of essential medical care constitutes degrading treatment. Article 3 imposes an obligation on the State to protect the physical well-being of persons deprived of their liberty by, among other things, providing them with the requisite medical care (Blokhin v. Russia [GC], 2016, § 136 and Mozer v. Moldova and Russia [GC], § 178).
overview
one people ,
from Algeria,
aged between 30-40.