The Supreme Court ruled that the detention of a 26-year-old asylum seeker from the Congo had become unlawful after approximately 15 months in custody, finding there was no realistic prospect of his deportation and ordering his immediate release.

In a decision issued last Friday but made public on Tuesday, the court ruled in favour of the applicant, concluding that his continued detention had gone “beyond what was reasonable”.

The man entered the Republic illegally but later presented himself to authorities and explained the reasons for his entry and stay.

He applied for asylum on July 22, 2022 and remained at liberty while working at a shopping centre in Paphos.

Authorities later said his asylum application had been treated as tacitly withdrawn on November 12, 2024, with a rejection letter allegedly sent a week later.

The applicant was arrested on February 11, 2025, when he visited the immigration service in Paphos to inquire about the loss of his asylum seeker status after being informed by his employer.

He was detained for illegal residence and served with detention and deportation orders the following day.

He subsequently applied to reopen his asylum file and regained his status as an applicant for international protection.

The original detention order was cancelled and replaced in May 2025 with a new detention order under asylum legislation.

Although his deportation order was suspended, his asylum request was rejected last June.

Before the Supreme Court, the applicant argued that his prolonged detention was “unlawful, unjustified and abusive” because there was no “real and realistic prospect of removal”.

The court agreed, stressing that detention linked to deportation must remain strictly limited and justified only where authorities are acting with “due diligence”.

“Detention is a restriction of the constitutionally guaranteed right to liberty,” the court insisted, adding that deprivation of liberty “should be for the shortest possible duration”.

The court further found that the period of 15 months “is not negligible” and that deportation could not realistically proceed while the deportation order remained suspended and the applicant’s appeal was still before the courts.

The Supreme Court further stated that even cases involving national security concerns could not justify prolonged detention where removal was not realistically possible.