1819914 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Sierra Leone, sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear harm from supporters of both the All People's Congress (APC) and the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) due to their involvement in political campaigning and the associated political violence in Sierra Leone. The decision under review was made by the Minister, and the matter came before the Refugee Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in section 5 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the applicant's fear of harm from APC and SLPP supporters constituted persecution for reasons of political opinion, and whether the harm feared was significant enough to engage Australia's protection obligations.

The Tribunal found that while the applicant had been involved in campaigning for the APC, their fear of harm was not sufficiently linked to a genuine political opinion held by the applicant that would attract persecution. The Tribunal considered the evidence of political violence in Sierra Leone but concluded that the applicant's fear was more general and not specifically directed at them due to their political beliefs or activities in a way that would amount to persecution. The Tribunal applied the principles established in cases concerning the assessment of well-founded fear and the nexus between the fear and a Convention reason.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Minister to refuse to grant the protection visa.