J’can rape convict fights deportation from UK

A Jamaican man serving a 14-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom (UK) for rape could potentially be returned to the island, but a legal battle over whether he would be adequately protected from criminal gangs is complicating efforts to deport him.

The UK Supreme Court is being asked to consider the legal test for determining whether a person facing deportation can reasonably access state protection in their home country.

The case, listed as Secretary of State for the Home Department v CP, centres on whether deporting him to Jamaica would violate Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture and inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.

The Supreme Court’s case listing shows that an application for permission to appeal was lodged. The court has not yet confirmed that permission has been granted.

CP was born in 1984 and moved to the UK in 2001 on student leave that expired the following year. He remained in the country unlawfully before making human-rights and protection claims in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Convicted of multiple offences

Between 2008 and 2009, he was convicted of multiple burglaries, attempted burglary, and unlawful wounding after stabbing his former partner. He received a prison sentence of four years and eight months.

While his asylum claim was being considered, he committed further serious offences against a young woman. In January 2013, he was convicted of two counts of rape and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment.

British authorities subsequently maintained that his presence in the UK posed a danger to the community and pursued his deportation.

However, CP challenged the decision, arguing that he faced a risk of harm in Jamaica because of his mother’s history as a police informant in the island.

Before they left Jamaica, his mother witnessed a murder and gave evidence at the trial, resulting in the conviction and imprisonment of a gang leader. CP argued that the association could expose him to retaliation and that he would not receive adequate protection from the Jamaican authorities.

The British government rejected his protection and human-rights claims in September 2019, maintaining that he could be deported. It argued that the likelihood of the gang targeting him more than two decades after the trial was low, that the Jamaican authorities could provide sufficient protection, and that he could relocate to another part of the island.

A British immigration tribunal initially rejected CP’s appeal. However, the Upper Tribunal subsequently overturned that decision, finding that the wrong legal test had been applied when assessing whether he could access protection.

The Upper Tribunal ruled that the relevant question was whether there was a real risk that CP would be unable to obtain reasonable protection, including through Jamaica’s witness protection programme.

In correspondence with the British Home Office in September 2023, Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security indicated that the probability of harm to CP’s family in Jamaica was high. It also stated that there was no guarantee he would be readmitted to the witness protection programme, as several assessments would have to be conducted by state agencies.

CP had previously been on the programme but had abandoned that protection.

The British Court of Appeal upheld the Upper Tribunal’s decision in July 2026, dismissing the government’s appeal. The case was subsequently brought before the Supreme Court through an application for permission to appeal.

editorial@gleanerjm.com