Facts
The complainant, an Albanian national from Kosovo, was deported from Switzerland on 26 February 1998. On 5 May 1998, he re-entered Switzerland illegally and applied for asylum. The Federal Office for Refugees did not consider his application and ordered his removal. The complainant was arrested on 26 October 1998 in Winterthur and taken into custody. After his conviction for violating the Federal Act on the Residence and Settlement of Foreigners, he was handed over to the Bern authorities responsible for enforcing his removal. On 20 February 1999, he was arrested again and on 22 February 1999, he was convicted of a violation of the Weapons Act and a breach of the Road Traffic Act. The Foreign Police of the Canton of Bern took him into deportation detention, which was confirmed by the Detention Court III Bern-Mittelland.
The complainant applied for release from detention on 23 March 1999, which the Detention Court rejected on 29/31 March 1999. The complainant appealed this decision to the Federal Court, filing a complaint with a request to revoke the decision and grant his application for release from detention.
Considerations
The Federal Court revoked the decision of the Detention Court and ordered the immediate release of the complainant from detention. The continued detention was no longer proportionate, as the enforcement of the removal was no longer foreseeable due to the current situation in Kosovo.
The Federal Court found that the duration of detention had been significantly extended and the possibility of prolonging detention had been created to take into account the difficulties and uncertainties in the deportation of foreigners. However, detention should only be revoked if there are compelling reasons for the impossibility of enforcing the removal measure or if it is practically established that the deportation can hardly be realized within…