2318079 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an individual who claimed to have converted to Christianity since arriving in Australia and feared persecution upon return to Samoa. The applicant alleged that his family and village would punish him severely under village law if he returned, as he came from a strong Catholic family and his village had only one Catholic church, with severe consequences for converts. The applicant also stated that threatening messages he received had been deleted from his social media account.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of religion, or a real risk of suffering significant harm, should he return to Samoa. This involved assessing the credibility of his claims in light of available country information and the legal requirements for establishing a well-founded fear of persecution under the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal found the applicant's claim of converting to Christianity since arriving in Australia to be illogical, noting that he was born into a Catholic family and Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. The Tribunal accepted that the applicant had always been a Christian. Relying on United States Department of State reports, the Tribunal noted that Samoa is a Christian nation where various Christian denominations, including Catholicism, coexist peacefully, and the Samoan Constitution provides for freedom of religion. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's claims of being targeted by his family or village elders due to his Christianity were not supported by the country information, particularly given his family's Christian background and the peaceful coexistence of different Christian denominations. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant faced a real chance of harm, significant harm, or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment upon return to Samoa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.