1609883 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by an individual from Turkey. The applicant claimed to fear persecution due to his Kurdish ethnicity and his involvement in pro-Kurdish political activities, including links to banned Kurdish political parties. The dispute before the Tribunal was whether Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees* (as amended).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*, which requires the Minister to be satisfied that Australia has protection obligations under the Refugees Convention. This involved assessing whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. The Tribunal also considered whether the feared persecution would constitute "serious harm" and whether it was systematic and discriminatory.

The Tribunal considered extensive country information regarding the treatment of Kurds and political activists in Turkey, particularly following the attempted coup in 2016. It found that the applicant, who came from a politically active family and had himself engaged in pro-Kurdish political activities, had consistently drawn the attention of the Turkish authorities. The Tribunal accepted that if returned to Turkey, the applicant would likely continue his political activities and face a real chance of being targeted for arrest, monitoring, harassment, prosecution, and potentially imprisonment on terrorism-related charges due to his ethnicity and political opinion. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's fear of persecution was well-founded, constituted serious harm, and was for a Convention reason.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies the criterion set out in section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*.