It unanimously held that holding prisoners indefinitely under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was incompatible with Article 5.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, eleven men were detained in HMP Belmarsh under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
[1] The Court unanimously ruled that the applicant's detention did not fall within the exception to the right of liberty set out in Article 5 (1)(f) as it was not possible to deport them.
[2] The Government argued that Article 5 allows a balance between the right to liberty and the protection of national security from a terrorist threat.
[8] As the applicants had domestic remedies to complain about their detention conditions, but did not make use of them, the Court found no violation of Article 3.