Mr EH

Mr EH was convicted in May 2011 of failure to produce a document and received a sentence of four months’ imprisonment.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in July 2013.

Mr EH, an Iranian national, was arrested after arriving at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and failing to produce a passport or document to a UK Border Agency officer. Mr EH claimed asylum on the basis that his life was in danger due to political persecution if returned to Iran.

Mr EH later pleaded guilty to an offence under the Immigration and Asylum (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004.

In August 2011, the Home Office refused Mr Mr EH’s asylum claim. Mr EH appealed this decision to the First-Tier Tribunal which overturned the Home Office’s decision. Mr EH was granted asylum by the Home Office in January 2012 with leave to remain in the UK until January 2017.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that Mr EH had a statutory defence available to him to the charge on which he was convicted, namely a “reasonable excuse”.

Mr EH could not use his genuine Iranian passport to leave Iran as the authorities were looking for him and he feared being stopped if he used it to try and exit the country.

On the evidence available it was probable that the defence would have succeeded and, as a result, there was a real possibility the Crown Court would set aside Mr EH’s guilty plea and conclude that in all the circumstances it should not uphold his conviction.

The CCRC referred the conviction in May 2014.

The Crown Court quashed the conviction in July 2014.