Italy - Court of Cassation in Rome, 02 July 2010, No. RG 17576/2010

Facts:

In January 2008, a Turkish citizen submitted an application for international protection to the Territorial Commission in Rome stating that he had been subjected to persecution in his own country as a member of a political movement of Kurdish ethnicity (the D.P.T.). The request was rejected by the Territorial Commission, which stated that the conditions for recognition had not been met. An appeal was lodged against this decision to the next two instances.

Decision & reasoning:

The Court of Cassation held that the decision of the Appeals Court (court of second instance) was unlawful, as that Court had rejected the appeal without carrying out its obligations of investigation and gathering complete documentation concerning the actual situation in the country of origin.

Indeed, according to the Court of Cassation, the Court should have investigated the facts described by the Applicant – that he had been convicted of terrorism – in order to be able to assess whether there had been persecution. The Court of Cassation stated that the European Court of Human Rights had established that political persecution can also exist when legally adopted criminal sanctions are imposed following standard legal proceedings against someone who has simply expressed political opinions. On the other hand, repressive measures with criminal sanctions against incitement to violence cannot be considered to be persecution. No proper investigation had been carried out regarding the actual circumstances and the Court of Cassation held that this was vital.

Outcome:

The decision of the Judge of second instance was declared unlawful and the case was sent back to the second instance for a new investigation.