1822232 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, who claimed to be an athletics coach from Sierra Leone, alleged he had been targeted by supporters of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) due to his campaigning for the All People’s Congress (APC) party. He further claimed to have been injured at an APC rally and accused of favouritism in selecting athletes for the Commonwealth Games, leading to his house being attacked and his wife and daughter being raped.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant qualified for protection as a refugee or on complementary protection grounds, based on the evidence presented. This required the Tribunal to assess the credibility of the applicant's claims and determine if he faced a real chance of persecution or harm amounting to a breach of Australia's protection obligations.

The Tribunal concluded that the decision under review should be affirmed. In reaching this conclusion, the Tribunal considered the applicant's claims, including his alleged political involvement with the APC and the threats and violence he claimed to have suffered from SLPP supporters. However, the Tribunal noted inconsistencies in the applicant's account, particularly regarding the timeline of his political roles and the nature of his duties as a national coach. Ultimately, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant had established he was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the relevant Act. As a result, he was also unable to satisfy the criteria under section 36(2)(b) or (c), and therefore, the protection visa could not be granted.