SZKKD v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2008] FCA 104

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SZKKD v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2008] FCA 104

SZKKD v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP AND REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL NSD 1902 OF 2007

COWDROY J

19 FEBRUARY 2008

SYDNEY

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY NSD 1902 OF 2007

ON APPEAL FROM THE FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BETWEEN: SZKKD

Appellant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

JUDGE: COWDROY J DATE OF ORDER: 19 FEBRUARY 2008

WHERE MADE: SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1. The appeal be dismissed. 2. The Appellant pay the costs of the First Respondent pursuant to O 62 r 4(2)(c) of the Federal Court Rules in the amount of $3,700. Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules. IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY NSD 1902 OF 2007

ON APPEAL FROM THE FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BETWEEN: SZKKD

Appellant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

JUDGE: COWDROY J

DATE: 19 FEBRUARY 2008

PLACE: SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 The appellant appeals from the decision of Federal Magistrate Scarlett dated 3 September 2007 in which his Honour affirmed the decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal ('the Tribunal') dated 5 February 2007. That decision upheld the decision of a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship ('the Minister') to refuse to grant the appellant a Protection (Class XA) visa ('protection visa').

BACKGROUND 2 The appellant arrived in Australia on 5 April 2006, travelling from Pakistan on a Pakistani passport. On 2 May 2006 the appellant lodged an application for a protection visa with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. A delegate of the first respondent refused the application and on 29 August 2006 the appellant applied to the Tribunal for a review of that decision. 3 The appellant was born in Pakistan and claims to be a Kashmiri citizen. He asserts that Kashmiri are not citizens of Pakistan. 4 The appellant claimed that he feared harm for reasons of his political opinion and Kashmiri ethnicity if he were to return to Pakistan. He claimed that he was of Kashmiri ethnicity and that he had suffered various forms of discrimination as a consequence of his ethnicity. 5 Regarding his political views, the appellant claimed he was a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation League ('JKLL') which supported an independent state of Jammu and Kashmir. The appellant claimed to have joined the JKLL in 1997 and to have held the position of information secretary in that organisation. He claimed to have been mistreated by security authorities on a number of occasions as a result of his association with the JKLL. This included being arrested and held for a week in May 1998 during which he was questioned, tortured and bashed by information officers. He claimed to have been arrested again in 1999. The appellant gave evidence that despite this persecution, he continued his political activity by various means including the giving of speeches against the Pakistani authorities. The appellant claimed that he was kidnapped in 2005 by Pakistani Intelligence Agents ('ISI'), who interrogated him and kept him in solitary confinement. As a result of the above, the appellant claimed to have well-founded fear of persecution. 6 The appellant provided various documents to the Tribunal in support of his claims.