The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has set aside a young Nigerian woman’s 2009 conviction for being in possession of a forged document.
The Court accepted that the young woman was a trafficked victim who should have had the protection of Article 26 (non-punishment provisions) of the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005. The appellant, Y, was assisted by the Poppy Project, the Helen Bamber Foundation and Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA). The expert from the Helen Bamber Foundation noted that “Ms Y is one of the most traumatised young women I have assessed at the Helen Bamber Foundation”. These reports were all accepted as fresh evidence.
More information can be found in the judgment.
Maya was instructed by Philippa Southwell of Birds Solicitors.
Maya Sikand is a member of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team.
