UK: Legal victory for HIV-positive migrant after prolonged detention

High Court grants interim relief and orders the Home Office to release HIV positive detainee

In R(DJR) v Secretary of State for the Home Department AC-2025-LON-000975, the High Court ordered the Secretary of State for the Home Department to release DJR from immigration detention.

DJR had been detained for several months and had been diagnosed with HIV while in detention. Due to the difficulties of him complying with his anti-retroviral medication regime while in detention, the Secretary of State for the Home Department had decided to release him.

However, over two months later, DJR had not been released and the Secretary of State for the Home Department had refused two applications for accommodation, despite insisting that he needed to be provided with accommodation before he could be released.

DJR initially asked the Court to order his release without accommodation, however, the Court was reluctant to make such an order because this might potentially lead to a breach of his post-sentence supervision requirements.

Instead, the Court decided to order the Secretary of State for the Home Department to provide DJR with accommodation on an urgent basis so that he could be released.