Aneurin Brewer successful in The Court of Appeal

Aneurin Brewer appeared for an applicant in the Court of Appeal successfully quashing his 2021 conviction for facilitating breaches of immigration law.

On 28th November 2024, the Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal out of time and granted the substantive appeal quashing the applicant’s conviction. No retrial was sought. The applicant, an asylum seeker who had piloted a small boat of asylum seekers across the English Channel in 2020, had been wrongly advised by his original legal team that he had no defence to the charge and consequently pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment which he served. When he learnt of Aneurin Brewer’s successful appeals against conviction for other small boats’ pilots in Kakaei [2021] EWCA Crim 503, Bani [2021] EWCA Crim 1958, Rakei (8th February 2022 unreported) and Khodamoradi [2022] EWCS Crim 37 he sought to appeal his conviction some three years out of time. The Court exceptionally granted an extension of the deadline for lodging grounds of appeal.

The appeal was granted on the basis it was “indistinguishable” from earlier appeals and the prosecution apologised in open court to Mr Bahadorie for falling into a “legal heresy” in bringing the prosecution.

Aneurin is frequently instructed to give a second opinion on grounds of appeal against conviction and sentence on a referral basis. He regularly appears before the Court of Appeal on behalf of clients he has represented in proceedings before the lower Courts and on behalf of defendants previously represented by others. Read more: [Aneurin Brewer Profile]

Aneurin Brewer was instructed by Canel Halil of Emery Halil Brown.