Case summaries

Greece - Special Appeal Committee, 19 January 2012, A.R. v Chief of Security and Order of the (former) Ministry of Public Order, Application No. 95/51447
Country of applicant: Afghanistan

The Applicant’s objective fear was not considered well-founded as persecution was not considered reasonably likely. It was held that there was a reasonable likelihood that, should he return, the Applicant would be forced to live as an internally displaced person in degrading conditions because he lacked the family network that would be required in order to reintegrate him into his homeland socially and financially. Exposure to extreme living conditions constitutes degrading treatment and deporting a person to a country where he would be subject to such conditions violates Article 3 of the ECHR. Subsidiary protection status was therefore granted.

Date of decision: 19-01-2012
ECtHR - Popov v France, Application Nos. 39472/07 and 39474/07
Country of applicant: Kazakhstan

The case concerned the administrative detention of a family for two weeks at the Rouen-Oissel centre in France pending their removal to Kazakhstan.

Date of decision: 19-01-2012
Hungary - Metropolitan Court, 17 January 2012, M.A.A. v Office of Immigration and Nationality (OIN), 6.K.34663/2009/36
Country of applicant: Syria

The Syrian Kurdish Applicant has been persecuted and tortured for his nationality and imputed political opinion.

Date of decision: 17-01-2012
Slovakia - Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, 17 January 2012, M.S. v Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, 1Sža/59/2011
Country of applicant: India

In the opinion of the appellate court, one of the conditions required under Section 19(1)(i) of the Asylum Act for ruling that there is no need to adjudicate was not fulfilled. Despite the existence of a final decision dismissing the application as manifestly unfounded, it was not possible to agree with the opinion of the administrative authorities, as upheld by the Regional Court, that the facts had not changed substantially.

Date of decision: 17-01-2012
Austria – Asylum Court, 16 January 2012, S22 423.415-1/2011-3E
Country of applicant: Afghanistan

The Asylum Court rejected an appeal against the decision to expel the applicant, who has a medical condition, and her daughter to Italy. The situation in Italy was assumed to be in accordance with the Reception Conditions Directive and there was, therefore, no real risk of a violation of Art 3 ECHR. There was no violation of Art 8 ECHR as the applicant’s son had been living in Austria for 10 years, which meant there was no family life worth protecting.

Date of decision: 16-01-2012
Italy - Trieste Court, 14 January 2012, No. RG 479/2011
Country of applicant: Rwanda

A risk of persecution of a refugee can extend in time beyond the period during which the actual events took place that resulted in a flight in search of protection. The risk should be assessed taking into account all the evidence and documentation at the Applicant’s disposal.

Date of decision: 14-01-2012
Finland - Supreme Administrative Court, 13 January 2012, KHO:2012:1
Country of applicant: Iran

Although the asylum seeker has been unable to offer any credible account of the death penalty allegedly imposed on him due to his homosexuality, it must nevertheless be assessed whether, he has grounds to fear persecution or is in real danger of suffering serious harm in his home country due to his sexual orientation, and what weight must be given to the fact that he must hide his homosexuality to avoid this kind of threat. The judgments of the Administrative Court and the Immigration Service were overturned and the case was returned to the Immigration Service for further consideration. 

Date of decision: 13-01-2012
France - Council of State, 11 January 2012, No. 354907
Country of applicant: Unknown

French associations challenged an internal memo from the OFPRA (3 November 2011). The Council of State suspended the execution of that memo.

Date of decision: 11-01-2012
ECtHR - Auad v. Bulgaria, Application No. 46390/10
Country of applicant: Lebanon, Palestinian Territory

The case concerned the proposed expulsion of the Applicant to Lebanon. He argued that it would expose him to a risk of ill‑treatment or death, that he did not have an effective remedy in respect of his claim in that regard, and that his detention pending deportation had been too lengthy and unjustified.

Date of decision: 11-01-2012
Ireland - High Court, 11 January 2012, P.I., E.I. (An Infant) and J.N.I. (An Infant) v Minister for Justice and Equality, [2012] IEHC 7
Country of applicant: Unknown

This was an application for an interim injunction preventing the removal of the applicants pending the outcome of their application for leave to apply for judicial review.  The underlying leave application raised several different points, of these, one was deemed arguable: that Ireland’s deportation regime involving a lifetime ban on re-entry is contrary to the ECHR and Irish Constitution.

Date of decision: 11-01-2012