1416533 (Refugee)

This decision concerns an application for a protection visa by a Sri Lankan citizen of Tamil Muslim ethnicity. The applicant claimed to have been abducted and interrogated by individuals identifying as LTTE members in August 2008. This alleged abduction followed the questioning of his Tamil friends by Sri Lankan police in December 2007, which the applicant stated was part of a broader pattern of suspicion towards Tamils in his area due to the ongoing conflict. The applicant provided statutory declarations detailing these events to the Department and later to the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution, thereby engaging Australia's protection obligations under the Refugees Convention and satisfying the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims in light of relevant policy guidelines and country information, as mandated by Ministerial Direction No. 56.

The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant's account established a well-founded fear of persecution. It reasoned that the applicant's association with individuals suspected of LTTE links, coupled with his abduction and interrogation by individuals claiming to be LTTE members, provided a sufficient basis for his fear. The Tribunal found that the applicant had met the criterion set out in section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a).