1618640 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant who claimed to face threats, abuse, and attacks from his former wife's brother in Turkey, and from his former wife and another brother in Australia. The AAT was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa, specifically whether he satisfied the refugee criterion under s.36(2)(a) or the complementary protection criterion under s.36(2)(aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's credibility, which it found to be a significant concern. The applicant's account of his relationship with his former wife's brother, BB, and the circumstances of their meeting and subsequent interactions, were found to be improbable and inconsistent. The Tribunal noted the applicant's claims of being close friends with BB, seeing him approximately three times a week for activities such as talking and picnics, and BB's family connections, including a judge and a deputy police chief. However, the Tribunal ultimately concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the refugee criterion under s.36(2).

As the applicant did not satisfy s.36(2), the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa. The Tribunal did not find that the applicant satisfied the criteria for the grant of the visa, including the complementary protection criterion, based on the evidence presented and its assessment of the applicant's credibility.