Mr DX

Mr DX, a citizen of Cameroon, was arrested at Gatwick airport in 2007 after presenting a false passport while in transit to Canada.

At his first appearance in Crown Court in 2007, Mr DX’s legal representative made the court aware of a potential defence available to him under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

However, when Mr DX next appeared in court in April 2007, he did so with different legal representation. This time no reference was made to the possible section 31 defence. Mr DX pleaded guilty on advice from his representative that day and was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.

Mr DX had been in the UK for four months when he was arrested. He claimed asylum in the UK after his arrest. Mr DX claimed he had a well-founded fear of persecution, based on his sexuality, if returned to Cameroon.

Mr DX was refused asylum and his appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal was dismissed in October 2007.

Mr DX’s case eventually reached the Supreme Court which unanimously allowed his appeal, accepting that his sexual orientation meant he ran the risk of persecution in Cameroon.

Following the Supreme Court judgment Mr DX was granted asylum and leave to remain in the UK for five years.

Mr DX applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in August 2012.

Having considered the case in detail the CCRC decided to refer Mr DX’s conviction to the Court of Appeal. The referral was made on the basis that he had a statutory defence available to him under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to the charge of using a false instrument with intent.

Consequently, there was a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would find that the statutory defence probably would have succeeded, that his guilty plea should be set aside and that his conviction was unsafe and should be quashed.

The CCRC referred the conviction in March 2013.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in July 2013.