The King (on the application of VT) (Sri Lanka) v Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory

The Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory has found that a group of migrants were unlawfully detained on the island of Diego Garcia from their arrival in October 2021 for more than three years. Although the claim sought the writ of habeas corpus it was not necessary for the Court formally to issue the writ, because the migrant camp was closed in December 2024 when the vast majority of the group was relocated to the UK.

The Court conducted a site visit to the camp on Diego Garcia and heard oral evidence from four witnesses at a hearing in person on the island. In today’s judgment, the Court held , “As a matter of objective fact and in law the Claimants are being detained and have been detained since their arrival on Diego Garcia”, noting that “There are few rights more important than the right not to be falsely imprisoned.”

Ben Jaffey KC and Natasha Simonsen acted for a group of the Claimants, instructed by Leigh Day.

The judgment is available here.