Citation: 2022 RLLR 49
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: November 28, 2022
Panel: Roderick Flynn
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Robert William W. Young
Country: Iraq
RPD Number: TC2-10041
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2022-01960
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: So I have had a chance to consider the evidence. I am prepared to render a decision in this matter orally. This will be — this decision will be sent to you following our hearing and may be edited for spelling and grammar purposes.
[2] This is a decision in the claim for refugee protection by XXXX XXXX XXXX file number TC2-10041. You are claiming to be a citizen of Iraq and you are seeking refugee protection pursuant to sections 96 and 97 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[3] So my determination is based on all the evidence, I find on a balance of probabilities you face more than a mere possibility of persecution in Kurdish Iraq based upon your political opinion, which you have been critical of the administration and operation of the XXXX system in the XXXX province.
[4] In summary, the allegations in this matter as follows. You describe your fear of persecution originates from the tragic passing of your wife from COVID in a XXXX hospital in the spring of 2021. You describe that the medical care of your wife was substandard, particularly in so far as despite the highly contagious nature of COVID, patients were inadequately separated from each other in the hospital and old and inadequate ventilators were used to sustain them. In the aftermath of the tragedy, you expressed your anger both in the hospital and outside the hospital at her care and gave a number of XXXX XXXX publicly sharing your opinion of what you believed to be substandard healthcare. Almost immediately, you received attention from police, including while trying to file an official complaint with the judicial system about her treatment, leading you not to go forward. After you triggered an investigation of the system of medical treatment in XXXX by speaking to two (2) journalists, they broadcast television exposés on the health situation in XXXX, which led to public responses from both government — health officials and the head of the XXXX province. Around the same time, you fled Iraq in late XXXX 2021 based upon the stress you had already received. You stated that there is nowhere you can go in Iraq to be safe and there is inadequate state protection available to you. You pledge to continue speaking out about the substandard health care in Kurdish Iraq if you return there.
[5] On the matter of your identity, your personal identity as a citizen of Iraq has been established by your credible testimony, a copy of your Iraqi passport, which has been entered into evidence, as well as the multiple other documents provide. I find on a balance of probabilities that identity and country of reference have been established.
[6] On the matter of nexus, I find there is a nexus between your political opinion, expressing public criticism of healthcare in Kurdish Iraq, and your fear of persecution there. Given this nexus to the ground of political opinion, your claim is being assessed under section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[7] On the matter of credibility, I find you to be a credible and consistent witness without major discrepancies or contradictions. You described, in compelling detail, your personal situation, the public statements you have made as a result of that situation and how your information to journalists led to Tv exposés on the healthcare system in XXXX. The video evidence provided shows that these exposés were compelling enough to provoke public statements by high-ranking politicians in about late XXXX or early XXXX 2021. I accept as credible that if you return to Iraq you would personally face persecution based upon your past and prospective statements criticizing the nature of, and quality of, healthcare in Iraq. You supported your oral evidence with abundant documentation, including various identity documents, documents confirming your education, your marriage certificates and documents confirming your wife’s passing. Video footage of your television interviews and statements and transcriptions and translations of the Iraqi tv broadcast. So based upon the evidence provided, I find on a balance of probabilities you have a credible subjective fear of persecution should you return to Iraq.
[8] Turning to the objective evidence. The objective evidence from the NDP for Iraq confirms your oral evidence. Item 1.7 of the NDP by the UNDP states that any individual who opposes or is perceived to oppose KRG authorities may be in need of international protection. Freedom House has quoted in Item 4.2 is indicating that, “Political speech in the Kurdistan region can prompt “arbitrary detention or other reprisals from the government or Kurdistan forces.”” The government of KRG has stated, in that article, to use the threat of prosecution to intimidate critics. It clearly shows that people who publicly criticized the KRG’s response to the the pandemic were either arrested or jailed. Both Item 2.9 and the ESO report in 1.11 repeat that in Kurdish Iraq, Kurdish security actors openly target government critics, who face threats of intimidation, physical attacks, arbitrary arrest, politically motivated prosecutions or even civil actions against them. In Item 2.9 the Danish information service quotes one (1) source as saying, “The only way one (1) can criticize or stand up to the people in power in KRG is if you are well connected.” I have no evidence before me to show that you have such an ability or capacity. Accordingly, based upon this objective evidence, I find your fear of persecution in Iraq, based upon your political opinion is well-founded.
[9] On the matter of state protection, given the fact that your principal agent of persecution is the government, I am satisfied, on the totality of evidence, that the presumption of state protection is rebutted in this case. Item 4.6 of the NDP at page 4 repeats that the KDP have an iron grip on the region’s institutions in XXXX and, “Including law enforcement.” The objective evidence provided by your Counsel shows that despite the rivalry between the ruling parties in northern Iraq, the PUK and KDP will cooperate in efforts to detain and persecute critics in their respective regions. Even if this were not the case, the NDP confirms that access to the rule of law in the Kurdistan region is still dependent on affiliation and connections and it is very difficult for someone like you to individually speak up for their own right. The NDP also indicates that in most cases, if anyone complains about state treatment in Kurdish Iraq, what occurs is a lack of effective investigation prompting a description of the situation as, “An atmosphere of impunity.” So based on all the evidence, I am satisfied that the presumption of state protection is rebutted on a balance of probabilities.
[10] On the matter of internal flight alternative, I have also had to consider whether there is somewhere you can go and live in Iraq safely. I am not persuaded, on a balance of probabilities, that there is one (1) for you. While the NDP does indicate a large Kurdish population near Baghdad, it also indicates that the requirement to speak Arabic to properly resettle in the area is mandatory. Item 1.19 of the NDP at paragraph 534 to 537 says that successful relocation in Iraq will typically depend on the availability of support network in the region, with relocation beyond those networks being a difficult proposition indeed. Your Counsel has provided objective evidence showing that relocation from KDP’s stronghold of XXXX to PUK held areas is not a viable option for you given the cooperation between these ruling authorities to detain and persecute critics. Because your agents of persecution are government-based actors in Kurdish Iraq, on all the evidence, I am satisfied there is no viable internal flight alternative for you in Iraq.
[11] In conclusion, based on all the evidence, I conclude you face a serious possibility of persecution in Iraq connected to your political opinion without adequate state protection or a viable IFA. Therefore, I conclude you are a refugee within the meaning of section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and I accept your claim.
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