Facts
[B.], who claims to be from Sudan, illegally entered Switzerland on May 1, 1996 and applied for asylum. His asylum application was rejected on September 11, 1996, and he was ordered to leave Switzerland by October 31, 1996. On August 7, 1997, [B.] was apprehended in Geneva and taken into expulsion detention by the Cantonal Aliens Police of Bern. The Detention Court III Bern-Mittelland confirmed this detention on August 8, 1997.
On October 30, 1997, [B.], through his legal representative, applied for release from detention. On November 6, 1997, the Detention Judge extended the expulsion detention by three months and rejected the request for release from detention. [B.] then went on a hunger strike.
On December 5, 1997, [B.] filed another request for release from detention with the Detention Judge, to which the Judge, in a decision dated December 9, 1997, did not enter, as it was premature.
[B.] has filed an administrative court appeal against this and requested that the contested decision be overturned and the Aliens Police be instructed to release him from detention immediately.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismisses the appeal. It finds that the Detention Judge rightly rejected the request for release from detention as premature, as according to Art. 13c para. 4 ANAG, a further request for release from detention is only possible after two months.
The Federal Court recognizes that in exceptional cases, where the detention proves to be manifestly unlawful, it may be permissible to deviate from…