Applicant C v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2001] FCA 1657

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Applicant C v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2001] FCA 1657

APPLICANT C v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS W188 OF 2001 CARR J 22 NOVEMBER 2001 PERTH

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

WESTERN AUSTRALIA DISTRICT REGISTRY W188 OF 2001

BETWEEN: APPLICANT C

Applicant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Respondent

JUDGE: CARR J

DATE OF ORDER: 22 NOVEMBER 2001

WHERE MADE: PERTH

THE COURT ORDERS THAT: 1. The application be dismissed. 2. The applicant pay the respondent's costs. Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

WESTERN AUSTRALIA DISTRICT REGISTRY W188 OF 2001

BETWEEN: APPLICANT C

Applicant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND

MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Respondent

JUDGE: CARR J

DATE: 22 NOVEMBER 2001

PLACE: PERTH

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

INTRODUCTION 1 This is an application for an order of review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal, made on 30 April 2001, by which the Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the respondent not to grant a protection visa to the applicant. The applicant, who is a citizen of Iran, arrived in Australia on 23 December 2000. On 21 January 2001 he lodged an application for a protection (class XA) visa with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("the Act"). On 12 February 2001 a delegate of the respondent refused to grant a protection visa and on 14 February 2001 the applicant applied for review of that decision.

the applicant's claims and the Tribunal's decision 2 The applicant's claims, in summary, were as follows: · He was of Persian ethnicity, a Shi'a and was 36 year of age. He was married with one child. His parents were deceased and he has five sisters and three brothers; · He had seven years of education and finished school in 1978. He did military service between 1984 and 1986, then worked as a chauffeur for five years, following which he worked as a clothing salesman for six years; · He lived at the same address in Ahwaz from 1990 until September 2000; · Between November 1997 until August 2000 the applicant worked as a driver for the Komiteh Jostejodyeh Mafghoodin, a group which recovered bodies of people killed during the Iran-Iraq war. · He discovered that some of that group were digging up old graves of civilians and political prisoners who had been executed, to satisfy the quota of missing soldiers which they had to recover. They would then make up false identification tags for the bodies sent to Teheran; · The applicant states that around the time that he made this discovery he also discovered that the authorities were constructing or had constructed some concrete buildings over the Iraqi border and he saw people being taken to them in covered cars; · He was working with a maternal cousin. He and his cousin became concerned about these matters and the applicant mentioned them to some Basiji officials; · The next day his cousin vanished and the applicant was told by a work colleague that the cousin had been killed because of what he knew and that he (the applicant) should escape from Iran because he was going to be killed as well; · He waited at his place of employment from about midday to 7.30 pm when it was dark and then went to Isfahan where he stayed with one his sisters for 3 to 3˝ months. · With the assistance of a people smuggler he was smuggled out of Iran to Pakistan where he obtained a Pakistani passport.