2100707 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Bangladeshi national. The applicant, who is the only child of his parents, had observed his father's significant and often controversial involvement in the Jatiya Party in Bangladesh. Following threats directed at him, which were triggered by his father's political activities, the applicant returned to Australia and applied for a protection visa. The decision under review was made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion, such that Australia owed him protection obligations under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the court to consider whether the applicant feared persecution, whether there was a real chance of such persecution if he returned to Bangladesh, and whether that persecution would be for a Convention reason, specifically political opinion. The court also had to determine if effective state protection was available to the applicant in Bangladesh.

The court found that the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of his political opinion, stemming from his father's prominent role in the Jatiya Party and the resulting threats from political opponents. The evidence, including letters from the applicant's father to the police requesting protection and an undated letter warning of harm to the applicant, supported the existence of these threats. The court was satisfied that the applicant's father was a person of influence and authority within the Jatiya Party, and that the applicant, as his only child, was known to his father's political opponents. Consequently, the court determined that Australia had protection obligations towards the applicant under section 36(2)(a) of the Act.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).