Digests

Murugamoorthy v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

IMM-4706-02

2003 FC 1114, O'Reilly J.

29/9/03

5 pp.

Applicant claiming persecuted in Sri Lanka by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and police--Immigration and Refugee Board dismissed her claim--Disbelieved account of mistreatment by LTTE--Applicant not disputing that aspect of Board's decision--Board also found police discriminated against applicant but did not persecute her--Applicant says Board made legal error, asks for new hearing for reassessment of police persecution by different panel--Applicant alleging arrested twice: in 1996, 2000--On both occasions, police detained, interrogated and released her with warnings, but without any physical abuse--On both occasions, police responding to terrorist acts by LTTE--In Velluppillai v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2000] F.C.J. No. 301 (T.D.) (QL), Gibson J. agreed that, in general, short detentions for legitimate law enforcement purposes did not constitute persecution--However, Board must go on to consider particular circumstances of applicant, including factors such as person's age and prior experiences, in deciding whether person persecuted--Board failed to do so in applicant's case--Therefore, Board erred when stating short-term arrests for security reasons cannot be considered persecution, even when carried out, as here, in discriminatory way--Board specifically acknowledged Sri Lankan authorities discriminate against Tamil population and found that, indeed, police had discriminated against applicant--However, Board said applicant had failed to show police had seriously mistreated her by depriving her of "core human right" and that police had done so persistently--Board did not explain why depriving person of liberty did not involve limitation on "core human right"--Nor did Board say why two arrests too few, or consider risk police might subject applicant to similar treatment in future--Under the circumstances, judicial review allowed.