2001817 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Pakistan, sought a protection visa. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution based on his alleged political opinion as a member of the Youth Wing of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a supporter of a particular politician. The decision under review was made by the Refugee Tribunal, presided over by Deputy President Denis Dragovic.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958, which requires a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion. This involved assessing the applicant's claims of harm from supporters of a rival politician and considering the credibility of his evidence regarding his political involvement and the threats he allegedly faced. The Tribunal also considered the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) and the definition of "significant harm."

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa. Deputy President Dragovic found that while the applicant's parents had moved and siblings resided in specific locations, the reasons for the parents' move and the alleged continued threats were not sufficiently substantiated. The Tribunal accepted the country information regarding the political rivalries but ultimately found the applicant's claims of being harmed multiple times by supporters of Mr. Khan, and his attempts to kill him, lacked credibility. The Tribunal noted that the applicant's political involvement was described as low-level volunteering, and the evidence did not establish a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason. Furthermore, the Tribunal addressed a procedural matter concerning a non-disclosure certificate, concluding that the material behind it did not impact the applicant's protection claims and that section 91WA of the Act was not triggered as no "bogus document" was provided.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958.