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Mr L

Published:

Mr L, an Iranian national, was convicted at Uxbridge magistrates Court in the summer of 2011 for failing to produce a satisfactory immigration document, contrary to section 2(1) Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004.

Mr L had arrived at Heathrow Airport on a flight from Milan on 19 June and was unable to produce a valid passport or other identity document

In interview he told immigration officials that he had not had an Iranian passport since his was seized by the authorities there in 1998 after he took part in a demonstration.

Mr L had previously left Iran without a passport and claimed asylum in the UK, but had returned to Iran after withdrawing his asylum claim.

He was subsequently imprisoned in Iran for almost a year after being involved in demonstrations following the 2009 elections. He escaped and went into hiding.

He fled Iran again traveling on foot and by lorry to Turkey where an agent provided him with a false passport and helped him travel to the UK via two unknown short stops. Mr L believed he was en route to Canada, but the agent took back the false passport and abandoned him at Heathrow Airport.

Mr L, on the advice of a solicitor, pleaded guilty to failing to produce a satisfactory immigration document . He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.

In 2011, Mr L was granted asylum with five years’ leave to remain in the UK and was subsequently granted indefinite leave to remain.

He applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in August 2018.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that Mr L had a statutory defence to the charge on which he was convicted under section 2 of the 2004 Act, namely a “reasonable excuse”.

The legal advice provided to Mr L deprived him of a defence that would probably have succeeded.

Consequently, there was a real possibility that the Crown Court would allow Mr L to vacate his guilty plea and in all the circumstances would not uphold the conviction.

The CCRC referred the conviction in October 2019.

The Crown Court quashed the conviction in January 2020.