Citation: 2019 RLLR 25
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: December 16, 2019
Panel: Jiyoung Kim
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Cemal Acikgoz
Country: Turkey
RPD Number: TB8-29430
ATIP Number: A-2021-01124
ATIP Pages: 000156-000158
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: You’re claiming to be a citizen of Turkey, and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to Section 96 and 97 Subsection of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. I find that you are a Convention refugee for the following reason.
[2] For making this decision and in formulating questions for the hearing, I considered Chairperson’s Guideline 9, with regarding to proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board involving claims of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression.
[3] You allege the following. That you are a citizen of Turkey, and that if you were to return, you will face persecution as a member in a particular social group, which is your sexual orientation. You also allege that your work, that criticized the conservative society in Turkey, led you to be targeted by the police in addition to your sexual orientation. In addition, you alleged that you will be considered as a draft dodger by the Turkish authorities since the extension to the deferral from the mandatory service ended. You allege that there is no state protection for you or an internal flight alternative.
[4] Your personal identity as a citizen of Turkey has been established by your oral testimony and the supporting documents, which is your passports. I find that on a balance of probabilities that identity and country of reference have been established.
[5] I find that there is a link between what you fear and one of the five Convention grounds, specifically particular social group, namely your sexual orientation. Therefore, I assessed your claim under Section 96.
[6] In terms of your general credibility, I have found you to be a credible witness and I therefore believe what you have alleged in your oral testimony and in your Basis of Claim form. In support of your claim you provided documents for your claim, including the letters from your mother, friends, medical report and photographs. Your oral testimony was straightforward and was largely in keeping with your Basis of Claim form and there were no significant inconsistencies or omissions that went to the heart of the claim. I therefore find the following to be credible. That you are a bisexual man facing persecution in Turkey due to your sexual orientation.
[7] Your o-, oral testimony today included details regarding your initial revelation that you are also attr-, attracted to person of the same gender as well as person of the opposite gender. You also provided details regarding your same-sex relationships in Turkey and the violence you faced from the society as well as from the police that led you to believe that you were targeted by the state authorities. You also provided details about your activities in Turkey such as attending the pride parade, which led to your detainment by the police, and attending social events hosted by the LGBTQ+ focus groups in Turkey. You also provided documents in support of your testimony that you are a bisexual man, those documents include letters of support from your friends, your parents, photographs and the membership statement from the 519 Organization. Your testimony and the supporting documentation all established that you are a bisexual man.
[8] The objective documentation supports your allegation that individuals in your circumstance face human rights abuse for LGBT person, and that although there’s no law that criminalize LGBTQ+ communities, the provisions of law on offences against public morality, protection of family, and unnatural sexual behaviour are used as a basis for abuse according to NDP dated March 29, 2019 Item 2.1. Bans on LGBTQ+ events by the State officials in recent years as demonstrated in NDP Item 2.7, show that the LGBTQ+ communities and their members face discrimination and violence based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Information on both the NDP and the country condition package submitted by the counsel Exhibit 4, all corroborate the heightened level of violence against the LGBTQ+ communities and their rights by the State authorities. I therefore find that you have a well-founded fear of persecution.
[9] I find that adequate state protection will not be available to you if you were to seek it in Turkey. You testified that you never sought prate-, state protection because the State will be unwilling to protect you, and because the police were the ones who were targeting you. And this is corroborated by the objective documentary evidence dat-, it indicates that NDP Item 1.14, that the government is unable or unwilling to protect vulnerable LGBTQ+ people from viol-, violence and discrimination. Impunity for crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals continue to be reported as a problem. And that according to NDP 2.1, there is no protection based on sexual orientation or gender identity on the criminal code. In light of the objective country documentation, I find that the claimant has rebutted the presumption of state protection. Based on your personal circumstances as well as the objective country documentation, I find that the adequate state protection will not be available to you, as the state will be unwilling and unable to protect you in Turkey.
[10] As you have rebutted the presumption of state protection and since the country documentation indicates that the situation for individuals in circumstances such as yours is the same throughout the country, I find that you do not have a viable internal flight alternative.
[11] Based on the totality of evidence, I find that you have established that there is a serious possibility of persecution on the Convention grounds, namely your membership in a particular social group as a bisexual person. I therefore find that you are a Convention refugee and I accept your claim.
———- REASONS CONCLUDED ———-