1931425 (Refugee)

The applicant, an ethnic Oromo from Ethiopia, sought a protection visa, alleging a well-founded fear of persecution based on his ethnicity and imputed political opinion. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had demonstrated a real chance of suffering significant harm due to systematic and discriminatory conduct by the Ethiopian authorities, and whether effective protection was available to him in Ethiopia. The decision under review was made by the Refugee Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, specifically ethnicity and imputed political opinion, and whether the Tribunal had erred in its assessment of the applicant's claims regarding adverse attention from authorities, his involvement in Oromo cultural activities, and the harm he and his family had sustained in police custody. The court also considered whether the Tribunal had adequately assessed the availability of effective protection in Ethiopia.

The court found that the applicant had provided credible evidence of his experiences, including his arrest in connection with anti-government protests, his involvement in an Oromo cultural group, and the serious injuries sustained by him and a family member while in police custody. It was held that the Tribunal had failed to give sufficient weight to this evidence and had not adequately considered the risk of harm arising from systematic and discriminatory conduct directed at ethnic Oromos. The court concluded that the applicant had demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution and that no effective protection measures were available to him in Ethiopia.

Consequently, the court remitted the application for reconsideration by the Refugee Tribunal with a direction that the applicant satisfies s 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).