CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Status in Canada |
Convention Refugees |
Ranjha v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)
IMM-5566-01
2003 FCT 637, Lemieux J.
21/5/03
18 pp.
Judicial review of decision by Refugee Division of Immigration and Refugee Board (Tribunal) denying applicant's refugee claim--Applicant 29-year-old citizen of Pakistan--Claim based on alleged fear of persecution at hands of police, members of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) by reason of political opinion as member of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)--Tribunal considered whether applicant suffered past persecution, would suffer persecution if he were to return to Pakistan--According to tribunal, claimant failed to establish, on balance of probabilities, experienced persecution in Pakistan, also failed to establish reasonable possibility he would suffer persecution if were to return to Pakistan-- Tribunal found incidents involved not ones of "persecution"-- Rested finding of no persecution on two grounds: (1) acts neither repetitive nor persistent nor amounting to persecution; (2) reaction of authorities in breaking up protests, rallies not acts of persecution--Two findings by tribunal errors of law with result tribunal's decision must be set aside--Tribunal had insufficient basis to invoke doctrine of law of general application to immunize acts of police which included arrest, torture in 1997, fracturing of arm in 1999 as being non-persecutorial--Security measures, to unmask terrorists, can never justify torture, physical violence of innocent civilians as means to that end--Concept of persecution meaning sustained, systematic violation of basic human rights demonstrative of failure of "state protection"--What led tribunal to error in analysis of persecution exaggerated emphasis on need for repetition, persistence--Evidence showed applicant severely burned by PML goons in 1993, arrested, tortured in 1996, arm fractured by police when dispersing rally in 1999--Incidents serious enough to constitute fundamental violation of applicant's human dignity--View tribunal took of absence of applicant's past persecution necessarily impacted on view as to whether applicant would be persecuted should he return to country of origin--Tribunal failing to give weight to arrest warrant against applicant--Findings patently unreasonable-- Application granted.