EU court: Czechs harmed Egyptian asylum seeker

Brno/Strasbourg, Dec 2 (CTK) - The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg decided on Thursday that the Czech Republic violated law in the case of asylum seeker Muhammad Magdi Mansur Rashid from Egypt, ombudsman spokeswoman Iva Hrazdilkova told CTK Tuesday.

In 2006-2007, the foreigner police held him illegally in a special centre, the court ruled. As a result, the Czech Republic will have to pay the damages of 2000 euros to the Egyptian man, Hrazdilkova said.

She said the court had identified with Czech ombudsman Otakar Motejl who had criticised the police for their treatment of asylum seekers.

In August 2006, the Egyptian man flew in the Prague-Ruzyne airport where he asked for asylum.

The police moved him to their centre in Velke Prilepy, Central Bohemia, where he was held until April 2007. He was only allowed to return to Egypt in June 2007.

Rashid said his having been held in Velke Prilepy had been illegal and his complaint about the authorities' steps was not settled rapidly enough.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the conditions in which asylum seekers were held in the police centres were inconsistent with the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms.

In the Egyptian's case, no decision was made during the ten months he had to spend in the Velke Prilepy centre, Hrazdilkova said.