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2019 RLLR 119

Citation: 2019 RLLR 119
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: May 16, 2019
Panel: I. Singh
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Brian Ibrahim Cintosun
Country: Iran
RPD Number: TB9-01998
ATIP Number: A-2021-00256
ATIP Pages: 000001-000003


[1]       MEMBER: I have considered your testimony and the other evidence in the case, and I am ready to render my decision orally. I would like to add that written reasons will be issued, and the written form of these reasons may be edited for spelling, syntax, and grammar, and references to the applicable case law and documentary evidence may also be included.

[2]       You, the Claimant, [XXX] you claim to be a male citizen of Iran, and you are claiming refugee protection pursuant to sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

[3]       Determination: I find that you are a Convention refugee for the following reasons:

[4]       I find that you have established a serious possibility of persecution based upon the Convention ground of membership in a particular social group based on your sexual orientation as a gay man.

[5]       Allegations: Your allegations are contained in your Basis of Claim form, and I won’t repeat them all here, but in summary, you allege the following:

[6]       You fear returning to Iran because you identify as a gay man, which is illegal in Iran.

[7]       Analysis/Identity: Your identity as a national of Iran is established by your testimony and a certified true copy of your Iranian passport found in Exhibit 1.

[8]       Credibility: Although I had some minor credibility concerns with your testimony, overall, I have found you to be a credible witness on a balance of probabilities and therefore believe what you have alleged in support of your claim. You testified in a straightforward manner without embellishment and there were no relevant inconsistencies in your testimony or contradictions between your testimony and the other evidence before me that were not satisfactorily explained.

[9]       Well-founded fear, state protection, and internal flight alternative: As it relates to the well-foundedness of your fear of persecution, I find that your subjective fear has an objective basis based on the objective documentary evidence before me. In the National Documentation Package, which is Exhibit 3, it confirms that same sex acts are criminalized in Iran, and gay men who are arrested are reported to suffer a range of human rights violations in detention, which range from harassment to physical torture. The test in assessing your risk of harm is forward-looking. You testified credibly about your fears regarding returning to Iran and the treatment you would receive. Your testimony was consistent with the country conditions in Iran, as reported in the documentary evidence. Thus, there is an objective basis to support your fears based upon your sexual orientation.

[10]     So having considered all this evidence before me, and your testimony which I believe to be credible on a balance of probabilities, I find that your fear of persecution is well-founded and you face a serious possibility of persecution in Iran due to your sexual orientation. Given that it’s the Iranian Government and authorities that you fear, I find it would be objectively unreasonable for you to seek the protection of the Iranian Government in light of your particular circumstances. I also find that you face a serious possibility of persecution throughout Iran, given that the documentary evidence shows the state authorities operate similarly throughout Iran. Therefore, I do not find that you have a viable internal flight alternative within Iran.

[11]     Conclusion: I conclude that you are a Convention refugee, and I therefore accept your claim.

[12]     And that concludes the decision and the hearing.

— DECISION CONCLUDED