Switzerland Banned to Distract Kosovo Suspected of Rape

The European Court for Human Rights has ruled against Switzerland's state demand for the expulsion of a Kosovar, since this requirement is contrary to Article 8 for the right to respect private and family life, the European Convention on Human Rights.

The issue concerns the Swiss authorities' refusal to re-establish Kosovo's residence permit, since it has proved to be 80 per cent disabled and is dependent on his two grown children living in Switzerland.

In 2003 Kosovar I.M. was sentenced by the Swiss Federal Court on charges of sexual obligation and rape, in the case that had occurred in the same year, broadcast Klan Kosova.

Two years later the Court of Appeals found him guilty only of rape and reduced his sentence to two years and three months in prison, adding the requirement that he be expelled from the Swiss state for 12 years.

I.M. lives in Basel, Switzerland, from 1993.