Court of Human Rights rules that Czech Republic held asylum seeker unlawfully

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that the Czech Republic treated an Egyptian asylum seeker unlawfully; detaining him for over ten months while his case was pending. On Tuesday, the Czech state was ordered to pay Mr Muhammad Magdi Mansur Rashid 2000 euros in damages. Mr Rashid was eventually sent back to Egypt in June 2007. He argued that his detainment in a holding centre near Prague had been illegal and that authorities had not moved quickly enough in dealing with his complaint. On Tuesday, the Court of Human Rights ruled that the conditions in which he had been kept breached the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms.