- Do you have a story?
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you → have → story
A kidnapper has won the right to stay in Britain under human rights laws after a judge found he could be mistreated in his native Kosovo for being Roma.
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he → win → Kosovo
Avdi Alija, 39, arrived illegally in the UK aged 14 and has been convicted of 50 criminal offences ranging from burglary and theft to cocaine possession and driving while drunk or high on drugs.
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Alija → arrive → drugs
A first tier immigration tribunal in Newport, South Wales, heard he was part of a gang that kidnapped a man and forced him into a car at knifepoint in 2018.
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that → hear → 2018
Alija helped bundle the terrified victim into his bedsit, where he was held captive, assaulted and threatened with being stabbed and doused in boiling water if he refused to pay £50,000.
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he → bundle → 50,000
After four-and-a-half hours, the man managed to flee by kicking through a double-glazed window and jumping from a second-floor balcony into the courtyard below.
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man → manage → courtyard
The trial judge found Alija had played a key role in the kidnap by allowing his bedsit to be used as a temporary prison, opening the door so the victim could be bundled inside and handing over a T-shirt used to bind his legs.
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victim → find → legs
Avdi Alija was part of a gang that kidnapped a man and forced him into a car at knifepoint in 2018, a first tier immigration tribunal in Newport heard
The victim was left with cuts to his body, neck, hands and arms, and underwent five operations during a three-week spell in hospital.
Alija was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for false imprisonment and a further year for GBH.
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Alija → kidnap → GBH
In March 2022, then home secretary Priti Patel ordered his deportation on the grounds that he posed a danger to the community.
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he → order → community
He appealed, citing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), but this failed, with a first tier tribunal upholding Ms Patel's decision on March 31, 2025.
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tribunal → appeal → March
The criminal appealed again, and his case was reheard on September 29 this year by immigration judge Ian Boyes.
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case → appeal → Boyes
By this time, Alija had already been released from prison on licence.
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Alija → release → licence
The court heard Alija was born in Kosovo to Roma gypsy parents before they were killed and their home destroyed during the 1998-99 Kosovo War.
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home → hear → War
He arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry in 2002 before going on to build up an 'extensive and lengthy criminal record', Judge Boyes wrote in a summary of the case.
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Boyes → arrive → case
The judge noted that Alija was considered a danger to the community, which meant he was barred from claiming asylum under the Geneva Convention.
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he → note → Convention
However, he was allowed to challenge Ms Patel's deportation order under the ECHR, citing Articles 2, 3 and 4, which protect the right to life and prohibit degrading treatment, slavery and forced labour.
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which → allow → treatment
Granting his appeal, Judge Boyes concluded that his lack of documents proving his Kosovan nationality - together wit his Roma identity - would leave him at risk of ill-treatment.
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lack → grant → treatment
He cited Vebi Kosumi, an expert witness who concluded that Alija would 'face discrimination, potential exploitation and abuse' if deported to Kosovo.
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Alija → cite → Kosovo
The judge wrote in his ruling: 'The most pertinent issue is that the appellant is stateless.
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appellant → write → ruling
He thus cannot be removed.
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He → remove → ?
To the extent that removal would take place to Kosovo then I am satisfied he would face treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR.
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he → take → ECHR
'To the extent that I am required to so pronounce it, the fact that the appellant would face treatment contrary to Article 3 is a very compelling circumstance and as such the appellant shall not be deported.
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appellant → require → Article
The judge also found there were grounds to allow the criminal to remain in the UK under Article 8, which protects the right to private and family life.
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which → find → life
He wrote: 'Taking all matters cumulatively, including his lengthy residence in the United Kingdom since childhood, his accepted personal history, his practical statelessness, the failure of all nationality enquiries, his Roma ethnicity, his vulnerability to exploitation and destitution and the absence of any realistic solution to those difficulties, I am satisfied that the consequences of deportation would be exceptionally harsh.'
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consequences → write → deportation
Alija's appeal was granted, meaning he is allowed to stay in the UK.
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he → grant → UK
The Aporia
