A convicted Polish drug dealer has an attempt to deport him, because he cannot speak Polish and has no family in his native country.
Nikodem Lopata, 22, Van Crewe, Cheshire, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison of 19 years and was told by the home office that he would be sent back to his native country.
But after he was released, Lopata, who appealed to Great Britain between the age of four, appealed against the decision under human rights laws.
He said he could not speak Polish and no longer had close family or friends in Poland, which means that he would find that he would find 'very difficult' if he had lived in the United Kingdom for almost all his life.
The Polish national was arrested at the age of 16 for the possession of cocaine with the intention of supplying, which led to a community order.
Two years later, he was convicted of motor vehicles and possession of cannabis, as a result of which he saw six points on his driver's license and a fine.
And three months later he was caught with more than £ 1,000 in drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, while wore a 'rambo' style knife.
On this point, the State Secretary, then Suella Braverman, decided to pursue deportation.
Nikodem Lopata (photo), 22, Van Crewe, Cheshire, has an attempt to deport him because he cannot speak Polish and has no family in his native country
But judges have now rejected the government's argument that he must be forced to leave the UK.
The law states that foreign nationals who have been sentenced to a prison sentence of 4 years or more 'must prove that there are very compelling circumstances [to overturn deportation].
“The exception will be achieved where the person is legally in the UK for most of his life, they are socially and culturally integrated in the UK and there would be very important obstacles for their integration in the country for which they are being deported.”
Relevant factors in considering whether a convicted person deports include 'the duration that the foreign national has lived in the UK and can offer the power of their social, cultural and family tires with the UK' and 'the nature of a support family in the land of return'.
The upper grandstand of the immigration and asylum chamber in Manchester was told that Lopata has seen his young age a non-enviable list of convictions. “
Report at the time of his conviction said he had been stopped by the police in January 2022 and tried to walk away from the officers to make a phone call.
He was then searched and found with 80 wraps heroin and crack-cocaine, another seven gram of heroin, a small bag of cannabis, a large knife described by the police as a 'rambo style' and £ 673 in cash.
The estimated street value of the medicines was between £ 1,040 and £ 1,340.
Lapota appealed against the decision to deport him, as well as the refusal of his leave request to stay under the EU settlement scheme in the field of human rights.
The case was heard in August 2024, with Lapota and his mother providing proof.
“Lapota had spent most of his life in the UK, including its forming years and went to school in the UK, and it was accepted that he probably built friendships and ties outside the family unit,” said Judge Ali.
A judge concluded that the human rights of Lapota would be violated by the decisions, a ruling by the new Minister of the Interior Yvette Cooper (photo)
“It was also accepted that he would have little physical family support in Poland, since his mother and uncles live in the UK, and he seems to have had no contact with his father.”
The judge concluded that the human rights of Lapota would be violated by the decisions, a decision of the new Minister of the Interior Yvette Cooper appealed.
Mrs. Cooper claimed that 'very compelling circumstances' should not be to deport foreign criminals who have been sentenced to four years in prison.
'The First Tier Tribunal Judge [FTTJ] Can not give sufficient reasons for his conclusion that there were very important obstacles for Mr Lopata who was in Poland Re -Integration, “the Home Office argued.
'The State Secretary rejected the FTT finding that Mr Lopata does not speak Polish and says that this conclusion was not sufficiently reasoned.
After his conviction from 2022, the State Secretary, then Suella Braverman (photo), decided to pursue deportation
“The State Secretary also argues that Mr Lopata could learn Polish within a reasonable period of time or by speaking English, or that his family could travel to Poland with him.”
Andrew Mullen from the Home Office described the finding that Mr Lopata did not speak Polish as 'very strange' and said it was difficult to present a 'much more serious infringement' than a drug with class A.
However, the Upper Tribunal ruled that Judge Ali had performed a 'detailed analysis' of the' connections of the pool 'with the United Kingdom and the level of integration, his lack of connections with Poland and his risk of recidivism and rehabilitation'.
“The judge's finding that there were” very compelling circumstances, “was rationally open to the facts,” they said.
'In our opinion, the conclusion of the FTTJ was that Mr Lopata did not speak Polish, a good open to him on the facts.
'The fact that he visited Poland for a week -long vacation when he was nine does not promote the matter of the State Secretary in this regard.
“Although the grounds claim that the State Secretary considers the claim that he does not speak Polish as” very dubious, “we note that Mr Lopata has lived in the United Kingdom since the age of four and it is difficult to see how such a conclusion could be challenged.
'The conclusion of the FTTJ in substance was that a person who had lived in the United Kingdom since the age of four, who does not speak Polish and would have little or no family support in Poland, would have very important obstacles for re -integration in Poland.
“In our opinion, this is a conclusion that is adequately reasoned and open to the FTTJ about the facts.”
By maintaining the original decision, Vice -judge ó Cealaigh KC ruled that Lopata's appeal against the decision of the State Secretary to refuse his claim of human rights is permitted.
