Polish homeless man wins £15,000 payout
Polish homeless man, 42, who was unlawfully detained for 38 days after being found sleeping rough wins £15,000 payout
- Mariusz Majewski was unlawfully detained after being found sleeping rough
- He was held in immigration detention for 38 days after his arrest in Tottenham
- Majewski was detained as part of Operation Gopik which was ruled unlawful
- Gopik deported European Economic Area nationals found sleeping rough in UK
A Polish man who was unlawfully detained after being found sleeping rough has been awarded nearly £15,000 in damages by the High Court.
Mariusz Majewski, 42, was unlawfully held in immigration detention for 38 days after he was arrested in Tottenham, north London, in March 2017.
He was detained as part of Operation Gopik, a national policy to deport European Economic Area nationals found sleeping rough in the UK.
The operation has since been ruled unlawful in a separate High Court case.
Mariusz Majewski, 42, was unlawfully held in immigration detention for 38 days after he was arrested. He was detained as part of Operation Gopik, a national policy to deport European Economic Area nationals found sleeping rough in the UK. Pictured: Rough sleepers in London
The Home Office subsequently admitted Mr Majewski’s detention under the policy was unlawful.
Judges today ruled Mr Majewski was entitled to £14,800 in compensatory damages.
Mr Justice Swift said that amount would ‘reflect the initial shock of detention, the continuing lack of liberty for the next 38 days and the dislocation to this personal and family life during that period.’
He added the damages would also ‘take account of the anxiety Mr Majewski must have felt at the prospect of removal from the United Kingdom.’
Judges at the High Court (pictured) today ruled Mr Majewski was entitled to £14,800 in compensatory damages
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Operation Gopik was ruled unlawful by the High Court. It ruled the Home Office’s position was contrary to EU law on EEA nationals’ rights to reside. The European commission has said EU member states have no right to deport EU citizens for being homeless
Mr Majewski first came to the UK in 2003 and was granted recognition of his permanent right of residence in 2013.
What was Operation Gopik?
Operation Gopik was a Home Office policy to deport rough sleepers who came from countries in the European Economic Area.
The government designated rough sleeping as an abuse of EU free movement rights.
It was introuced in February 2017.
But by December 2017 the policy was ruled unlawful by the High Court.
It ruled the Home Office’s position was contrary to EU law on EEA nationals’ rights to reside.
The European commission has said EU member states have no right to deport EU citizens for being homeless and said EU citizens had a right to live in other EU countries ‘irrespective of whether they are homeless or not’.
When he was found sleeping rough by police and immigration officers in March 2017, he was arrested because he was wanted for questioning over alleged threats to kill.
Later that day, he was transferred to immigration detention pending removal from the UK and was unlawfully held for 38 days.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Swift said Mr Majewski’s case was one of approximately 30 claims brought against the Home Office in relation to unlawful detention under Operation Gopik.
The ruling follows a decision in a similar case heard in January, in which a Polish couple who were unlawfully detained for more than five months were awarded nearly £90,000 in damages by the High Court.
Iwona Deptka, 33, and Henry Sadlowski, 38, were unlawfully held for 154 days after they were found sleeping rough in Lancashire.
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