1819618 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Cameroonian national. The applicant claimed he had fled Cameroon due to a well-founded fear of persecution by the government, which believed he was a journalist for a secessionist organisation. The applicant alleged he had been arrested, beaten, and tortured by soldiers after documenting an incident involving gunshots and chaos in Batibo, Cameroon, and that he faced further persecution, including a default judgment and a 15-year prison sentence in absentia from a Military Court. The decision was made by Wayne Pennell, Senior Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations, as defined by the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required determining if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of the applicant's removal to Cameroon, there was a real risk he would suffer significant harm or a real chance he would suffer serious harm. The Tribunal also considered its obligation to assess the applicant's claims and the evidence provided, noting that the onus was on the applicant to establish his case and that the Tribunal was not required to accept all allegations uncritically.

The Tribunal found that the applicant met the definition of a refugee and the criteria set out in the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) for a protection visa. It concluded that Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant. The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the Act.