Bina, R. v
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE McCOMBE
- MR JUSTICE SUPPERSTONE
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Immigration Law
- Evidence Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The applicant was convicted for conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration laws and related financial crimes, arguing his actions were humanitarian. After being sentenced to nine years in prison, he sought to appeal the conviction and sentence, alleging legal and evidential errors. The court held that the offense under section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971 applies regardless of whether the individuals are asylum seekers and upheld the initial conviction and sentence.
J U D G M E N T
LORD JUSTICE McCOMBE:
1. On 14 December 2012, following a trial in the Crown Court at Kingston upon Thames before Her Honour Judge Coello and a jury, the applicant was convicted of eight offences: one offence under section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 of conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of an immigration law of a member state, contrary to section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 (count 1); one offence under the 1977 Act of conspiracy to facilitate the arrival of an asylum seeker into the United Kingdom, contrary to section 25(A)(1) of the 1971 Act (count 2); two specific offences of facilitating the arrival of named asylum seekers into the United Kingdom, contrary to section 25(A)(1) of the 1971 Act (counts 3 and 4); and three offences of converting criminal property, contrary to section 327(1)(c) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (counts 6, 7, 8 and 9). The applicant was acquitted on the direction of the learned judge on one charge of encouraging or assisting the commission of fraud, contrary to section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 (count 5). It is material to mention that acquittal because of a point taken in relation to the admissibility of evidence primarily relied upon in relation to the other offences.
2. On 18 December 2012 the applicant was sentenced to a total of nine years' imprisonment, made up of concurrent sentences of nine years for the two conspiracy offences, and four years each for the substantive section 25(A) offences and for each of the criminal property offences.
3. There was a co-accused, Monir Asemani (the applicant's wife), who was convicted with her husband on counts 8 and 9. She was sentenced to concurrent terms of 30 months' imprisonment on each count.
4. The applicant now renews his applications for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence following refusal by the single judge.
5. The underlying facts and the main features of the Crown's case against the applicant were as follows. The applicant was born in Iran. Through his first marriage he was related to the first foreign minister of the new revolutionary government of Iran, which set up the new regime in that country in 1979. Subsequently it appears that his family fell out with the regime and suffered mistreatment at the hands of the authorities. He and his wife were sent to jail where, it seems to be accepted, he suffered torture. His wife died shortly after her release from prison.
6. In 1990 he came to the U