UK recalls Iraqi man in removal case from Windsor bail hostel

Iraqi national Mohammed Yaseen was recalled to prison after being housed in a Windsor bail hostel under a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, the Express reported on Oct. 18, citing the Mail on Sunday.

The case puts renewed attention on UK removal policy after the government said more than 11,000 foreign criminals had been returned or deported in the two years since the last election, a 41% increase from the prior two-year period.

The Express, citing the Mail on Sunday, said Yaseen crossed the English Channel in a small boat last December, was later jailed and then placed in Windsor, where he could move around if he wore an electronic ankle tag and observed the curfew.

The report said he was seen last week at a Co-op store near Windsor Castle and was recalled to prison hours after the Home Office was contacted. It cited a source as saying: "He is no longer in Windsor."

The most serious claims about Yaseen’s past were attributed in the report to German trial documents and prosecutors. The Express said those documents described him as guarding public executions with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, including two alleged mass executions.

The report said a judge had previously found Yaseen could face mistreatment or death if returned to Iraq. It also said the Foreign Office had suggested he could face "mistreatment" if sent back, a potential obstacle to removal under UK and human-rights law.

A government spokesperson told the Express: "Any foreign national who receives a prison sentence in the UK is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and will be barred from ever returning. Over 11,000 foreign criminals including murderers and rapists have been returned or deported in the two years since the last election – a 41% increase on the two years prior.”

The Express said legal aid could cover Yaseen’s application to remain in Britain and cited experts, via the Mail on Sunday, saying a case taken to the European Court of Human Rights could cost British taxpayers £500,000. The same cited experts estimated annual housing, food and monitoring costs could reach £85,000.

The government has changed the Early Removal Scheme so most foreign prisoners can be deported after serving 30% of their prison sentence, rather than 50%, according to the Express report.