Jail house love

8th January 2010

A couple who met in the back of a police car on their way to gaol have won the right to marry behind bars after taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Pawel J. now has the right to take Magdalena H. to be his lawfully wedded wife after the court found a decision by prison authorities barring them from marriage was not in accordance with human rights legislation.

“It is a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,” the court ruled, explaining that personal liberty should not be a condition on whether somebody can get married or not.

“Prison deprives a person of freedom and certain rights and privileges. But it does no ...