A disabled man was forcibly removed from his home after a court order was made without proper evidence or his case being heard.
A Court of Appeal ruling found that a judge wrongly granted the emergency order to Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust after it wrongly sought to remove Aamir Mazhar to hospital without him being given notice in April 2016.
Under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights he was entitled to a fair hearing – the denial of which amounted to a “flagrant denial of justice” according to the Court of Appeal ruling.
Mazhar has muscular dystrophy, and full capacity to make decisions about his care. Two police officers and three paramedics arrived at his home in the early morning, showed him the order, and took him to hospital. In his witness statement, Mr Mazhar said he felt “traumatised” by the experience. “I have never had any involvement with the police before and the presence of the police officers made me feel like a criminal in my own home.”
DR UK’s Head of Policy Fazilet Hadi said: “That a disabled person can be dragged off and held in hospital against their will when they have full capacity is truly horrifying. Local government, care providers, and those involved with the justice system must abide by human rights conventions. Not to do so is not only illegal, but utterly callous and inhumane.”