Edvardas Kekstas, a Lithuanian burglar, avoided deportation from the UK by invoking Article Eight relating to family.
Kekstas was jailed in 2022. He got eleven years for serious crimes, including burglary and robbery. He also inflicted bodily harm on his victim. His crimes happened after Brexit, so a special EU agreement did not protect him.
He appealed his deportation based on family rights. He cited Article Eight of the ECHR, which protects the right to family life. Initially, a judge agreed, but they made a mistake. They wrongly used the EU agreement. A higher court disagreed with this specific reason.
The higher court ordered a new hearing about family life. UK law says long sentences mean automatic deportation. This applies to sentences over four years. Criminals can avoid this if family factors are “compelling”.
Kekstas’s case follows similar past situations. Other criminals used Article Eight to stop deportation. These include a killer, a murderer, and a drug dealer who also avoided being sent away.
A Zimbabwean driver killed someone in a crash. He avoided deportation because of a child in the UK. He got over five years for dangerous driving. The court said deporting him would harm his family.
An Albanian national, Fatmir Bleta, was jailed for murder. He argued sending him back would be hard on his UK family. Bleta, age 64, entered the UK by lying about his identity, and he sought asylum by claiming to be Kosovan.
A Turkish drug boss got sixteen years for dealing heroin. He also won his case to stay. He claimed family rights, even with an affair in Turkey. He then married the woman there to “preserve her honour”.
There are many outstanding immigration appeals. These appeals often involve human rights claims. This causes difficulty for speeding up deportations. Parties face pressure to change these laws. Some want to leave the ECHR completely.