The applicant, Sita Mawaka, is a Congolese national who was born in 1969 and lives in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). Granted asylum and a residence permit in the Netherlands since July 1996, Mr Mawaka is currently awaiting expulsion to the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the withdrawal of his residence permit on account of a criminal conviction in 1997 in Belgium for drug trafficking. Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights, he alleges that he would be at real and personal risk if expulsed to his country of origin. He also alleges an interference with his right to respect for his family life with his wife and son who live in the Netherlands, in breach of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life).
(from the official press-release prepared by the Registry Office of the European Court of Human Rights)