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2020 RLLR 79

Citation: 2020 RLLR 79
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: January 10, 2020
Panel: D. Simonian
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Esther Lexchin
Country: Turkey
RPD Number: TB9-16173
Associated RPD Number(s):
ATIP Number: A-2021-00800
ATIP Pages: 000128-000131

DECISION

[1]       MEMBER: I have considered your testimony and the other evidence before me and I’m ready to render my decision orally. You will receive an unedited copy of this decision in the mail. Your counsel will also get a copy. This is the decision in the claim for refugee protection made by [XXX], file number TB9-16173. You alleged that you are a citizen of Turkey and you are claiming refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

[2]       I find that you are a Convention refugee because you have established that you face a serious possibility of persecution in Turkey due to your Kurdish ethnicity and your pro-Kurdish political activity as a supporter of the People’s Democratic Party here and after HDP. I accept your claim.

[3]       The details of your claim are set out in your Basis of Claim form dated October 11th, 2018, found at Exhibit 2 and in your amended Basis of Claim form narratives, found at Exhibits 2.1 and 8.

[4]       In summary, you alleged that you are Kurdish, that you support the HDP and that you are involved in activities critical of the current Turkish government. You fear the Turkish government, Turkish Nationalists as well as certain anti-Kurdish bureaucrats who have infiltrated the military, education and health care sectors. You alleged that you have participated in a number of protests, that you helped mobilize students and other fellow citizens and that you have been politically outspoken on social media. You also allege that you have been arbitrarily detained by police on a number of occasions and that you sustained a permanent injury to your hand as a result of being beaten by police.

[5]       With respect to nexus, I find there is a link between what you fear and one of the five Convention grounds, specifically, political opinion. I have therefore assessed your refugee claim under Section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. You allege that you are a citizen of Turkey and that you are not a citizen or permanent resident of any other country. You provided your genuine Turkish passport and Turkish identity card to CBSA, copies of which are found at Exhibit 1. Based on that evidence, I find that you have established your identity as required under Section 106 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and rule 11 of the Refugee Protection Division rules. I am satisfied on a balance of probabilities that you are who you say you are.

[6]       The determinative issue in this claim is credibility. For the reasons I will outline shortly, I find you to be credible on a balance of probabilities. You provided evidence, both in your personal documents and in your testimony that you are Kurdish and that you have engaged in anti-government activities. In your Basis of Claim form and in your testimony, you explained your ethnic background and your experience growing up as a Kurdish person in Turkey. You further explained your involvement in the HDP, including how their goals align with your political ideology. You also explained your role in certain protests, how you were detained on several occasions and how you were attacked by police following a fight that broke out at your University.

[7]       As part of the exhz-, as part of Exhibits 5 and 8, you provided corroborating evidence, including, the record of your complaints statements, a letter from your University dormmate, photos of you participating in protests, a photo of you after you were injured by police, a Facebook post related to a protest that you attended, a text message exchange with [XXX], the [XXX], a letter from the Kurdish community centre in Canada and YouTube clips of you participating in a protest in [XXX]. Your personal documents were consistent in content and chronology with the account you gave in your Basis of Claim form and in your testimony regarding the circumstances that caused you to fear persecution in Turkey as a politically active Kurd.

[8]       I therefore find on a balance of probabilities that your documents are credible and trustworthy. Your testimony was straight-forward and responsive to my questions. There were no material inconsistencies or contradictions, you spoke passionately about your beliefs, your nation and your political goals. You provided many details with spontaneity and without embellishment. I therefore accept what you allege in your testimony and in your Basis of Claim form and I find on a balance of probabilities that you have established your profile as a politically active Kurd.

[9]       I find there is an objective basis for your fear of persecution in Turkey. In other words, the objective evidence is consistent with your allegation that because of your ethnicity and your political activism, you would face a serious risk of persecution in Turkey. In reaching my conclusion, I consider the documents in the National Documentation Package for Turkey, dated March 29, 2019, the index of which is found at Exhibit 3. I also consider the documents that counsel submitted on your behalf which are at Exhibit 6 and 7. In particular, the NDP states that since the 2016 attempted coup d’état, the situation for Kurds in Turkey has worsened.

[10]     NDP Item 13.1 indicates that “The situation has worsened in Turkey for Kurds”. Under the state of emergency, the executive orders make it easy to arrest Kurds and put them in jail without due process. The prosecutors can keep arrested people up to a month without a lawyer. Furthermore, the current permissive political environment increased tolerance against Kurds in the country. The executive orders targeted Kurds, hundreds of academics, public employees were fired from their works. Some of them have nothing to do with the HDP. As for society, the rise of anti-Kurdish attitudes is on the rise. The government again adopted a strong nationalist conservative discourse which alienated secular political opposition. Those who speak the Kurdish language are not tolerated and deemed as potential terrorists in Turkey. Communal violence against her-, Kurds is on the rise after the coup attempt but mainstream media are also hesitant to make news about these incidents”.

[11]     Under the guise of the emergency decrees and anti-terrorism laws, the Turkish government disproportionately subjects Kurds and those critical of the government to various human rights violations. While Turkey is no longer under a state of emergency, the emergency decrees granting abusive powers remain in force. Despite the public declaration of a repeal of the state of emergency, there is no change in the treatment of Kurds and those persons who are or perceived to be critical of the government. Based on the objective country documentary evidence, I find on a balance of probabilities that your fear of persecution is well-founded.

[12]     There is a presumption that States are capable of protecting their citizens, however, a claimant can rebut the presumption of state protection and demonstrate that they would not receive such protection by providing clear and convincing evidence of the unwillingness or inability of the State to protect them. You testified that rather than protecting you, Turkish police forces were often the source of violence, attacks and oppression. Based on your personal circumstances as well as the objective country documentation, I find that you have rebutted the presumption of state protection. In other words, adequate state protection would not be available to you if you were to seek it in Turkey.

[13]     In considering whether an internal flight alternative exists for you, I find that you face a serious possibility of persecution throughout Turkey. The objective documentary evidence indicates that the government and authorities operate similarly throughout the country. In other words, there is nowhere that you could live safely in Turkey. I therefore find that there is no internal flight available to you in that country.

[14]     In conclusion, after assessing all of the evidence, I find that you would face a serious possibility of persecution pursuant to Section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act should you return to Turkey. Accordingly, I find that you are a Convention refugee and I accept your claim.

———- REASONS CONCLUDED ———-