Citation: 2020 RLLR 177
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: February 11, 2020
Panel: P. Gueller
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Gregory J. Willoughby
Country: Egypt
RPD Number: TB8-25724
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2020-00518
ATIP Pages: 000709-000714
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: Okay. So, yes. I have considered your testimony and the other evidence in the case, and I am ready to render my decision orally.
[2] These are the reasons for the decision in the claim of XXXX XXXX XXXX, who claims to be a citizen of Egypt and is claiming refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[3] In rendering my reasons, I have considered and applied the Chairperson’s Guidelines on Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender Related Persecution.
ALLEGATIONS
[4] You allege that you fear persecution by the Egyptian government because your political opinion, and if you return to Egypt you will be detained by Egyptian authorities upon your arrival.
[5] You allege that you graduated from XXXX XXXX in Alexandria in 1996. On March 15, 2018 you expressed your political position against the presidential campaign supporting el-Sisi for the elections held in March 2018 before the Egyptian Bar Association.
[6] The afternoon of the same day security forces raided your home and arrested you without a warrant in the presence of our children. You were detained for 15 days where you were beaten and tortured.
[7] You allege that on August 8, 2018 you were talking in the Egyptian Bar Association about the importance of organizing a demonstration.
[8] The next day, the security forces raided your home and arrested you for a second time. During your arrest, you were beaten, sexually assaulted, humiliated, and insulted.
[9] You were released on August 20, 2018 after you were forced to sign an undertaking not to participate in any political activities, and to report to the security office every week.
[10] You reported three times. And after consulting a lawyer who advised you to flee the country, you paid an officer in the airport to be able to leave Egypt.
DETERMINATION
[11] I find that you are a Convention Refugee as you have established a serious possibility of persecution on account of your political opinion.
ANALYSIS
Identity
[12] I found that your identity as a national of Egypt is established by your testimony and the supporting documentation filed, including your passport.
CREDIBILITY
[13] The determinative issue in this case are credibility and State protection. In making this assessment I have considered all the evidence including, the oral testimony, and the documentary evidence entered as Exhibits. I find you to be a credible witness and therefore believe what you alleged in support of your claim.
[14] You testified in a straightforward manner, and there were no relevant inconsistencies in your testimony, or contradictions between your testimony and the other evidence before me which have not been satisfactorily explained.
[15] In particular, the evidence establishes the allegations as set out above. You testified with clear and convincing evidence about your claim. You were spontaneous with details about your background and persecution.
[16] You also provided details of the arrest, torture, sexual assault, harassment, and threatening incidents that you and your family experienced in Egypt. These were details that you would expect of someone who had lived the experiences described.
[17] You provided reasonable explanations and clarifications for minor inconsistencies. when I ask you, you did not appear at all evasive in your testimony.
[18] You provided corroborating documentation to support the core aspects of the claim; a support letter from your husband, three letters from people who knew about your political opinion and participation in demonstrations, a support letter from a lawyer who witness your position before the Egyptian Bar Association, three Notice of Summon issued by the officer of the police station of Alraml A-L-R-A-M-L, the second for you to be present before the Public Prosecutor on the following days: October 14, 2018, December 3, 2018, and March 16, 2019, two psychological medical reports from your children who stayed in Egypt and were present at the time of your arrest.
[19] Based upon your testimony and documentary evidence filed in support of your claim, I am satisfied of your persona) and political background, your education, and your work history.
[20] Therefore, I accept what you have alleged in relation to your claim and find on a balance of probabilities that you faced threats by the authorities due to your political opinion.
[21] Therefore, I find on a balance of probabilities you have a credible subjective fear of persecution in Egypt, and you have established your core allegations of being persecuted for your political opinion.
[22] Therefore, I find on a balance of probabilities you have established that you have a subjective fear of persecution if you return to Egypt.
OBJECTIVE BASIS
[23] I find that adequate State protection would not be reasonable forthcoming in this case. The evidence in the NDP for Egypt supports your allegations.
[24] Item 2.3 states that since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi secured a second term in a largely unfree and unfair presidential election in March 2018, his security forces have escalated a campaign of intimidation, violence, and arrest against political opponents, civil society activists, and many other who have simply voiced mild criticism of the government, invoking terrorism and the country’s state of emergency law to silence peaceful activists.
[25] The NDP Item 10.1 reports that there are problems in the implementation of basic human and civil rights, in particular related to frequent impunity in the behaviour of law enforcement and unjustified or excessive violence.
[26] The NDP evidence at Item 9.7 states that Torture appears to occur particularly frequently following arbitrary arrests and is often carried out to obtain a confession or to punish and threaten political dissenters.
[27] Torture occurs in police stations, prisons, State security facilities, and Central Security Forces facilities. Torture is perpetrated by police officers, military officers, National Security officers and prison guards.
[28] based on the country conditions evidence your claim is objectively well-founded. Based on the credibility of your allegations and the documentary evidence that [inaudible] I find that you have established that there is more than a mere possibility that you may face persecution if you were to return to Egypt today.
STATE PROTECTION
[29] Therefore, based on the review of the documentary evidence I find that you have rebutted the presumption of State protection with clear and convincing evidence.
[30] And adequate State protection would not be available to you were to seek it in Egypt, as the evidence before me is that it would be objectively unreasonable for you to seek the protection of the state in light of your particular circumstances, as the Egyptian authorities are the agent of persecution.
INTERNAL FLIGHT ALTERNATIVE
[31] I have considered whether a viable internal flight alternative exists for you. On the evidence before me, that the Egyptian government is the agent of persecution, I find that there is a serious possibility of persecution throughout Egypt. So, there is no internal flight alternative for you.
CONCLUSION
[32] Based on the analysis above I conclude that you are a Convention Refugee. Accordingly, I accept your claim.
[33] So, I wish you all the best.
[34] CLAIMANT: Thank you.
[35] MEMBER: Welcome to Canada. And I hope you can get together with your family soon.
[36] Thank you, Counsel.
[37] Thank you, Madam Interpreter.
[38] COUNSEL: Okay …
[39] MEMBER: So, we are on the record …
[40] PERSON UNKNOWN: Yes.
[41] MEMBER: and one of the… what was the name? XXXX?
[42] PERSON UNKNOWN: XXXX.
[43] MEMBER: So, XXXX XXXX just asked me whether he can take a photograph of me…
[44] PERSON UNKNOWN: Sorry.
[45] MEMBER: And I am explaining to him… no that is fine. That is okay… that these are private and confidential proceedings …
[46] PERSON UNKNOWN: Oh, okay.
[47] MEMBER: it… suppose you should not even take a photograph of the room.
[48] PERSON UNKNOWN: Oh.
[49] MEMBER: So, I hope you did not do that during the break.
[50] PERSONUNKNOWN: No.
[51] MEMBER: Okay. So, we go off the record.
———- REASONS CONCLUDED ———-