1722995 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the protection visa applications of two applicants from Egypt. The applicants claimed they had a well-founded fear of persecution due to their Coptic Christian faith and the applicant's former status as an Egyptian Air Force officer, alleging discrimination, harassment, and violence from extremist Muslim groups and a lack of state protection.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Australia had protection obligations towards the applicants under sections 36(2)(a) and 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This required determining if the applicants were refugees, possessing a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and if effective protection measures were unavailable in Egypt.

The Tribunal accepted the applicants' identities and nationality as Egyptian. It considered the applicants' evidence detailing sectarian violence, discrimination against Christians, attacks on churches, and specific threats and harm directed at the applicant due to his former military service and Christian faith. The Tribunal noted the general instability in Egypt and the alleged inability of the authorities to provide protection. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that the applicants satisfy the criterion set out in s.36(2)(a) of the Migration Act.