Citation: 2022 RLLR 73
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: May 25, 2022
Panel: K. Khamsi
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Brian Ibrahim Cintosun
Country: Iran
RPD Number: TC1-19541
Associated RPD Number(s): TC1-11915
ATIP Number: A-2022-01960
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: XXXX and XXXX XXXX, you claim to be citizens of Iran, and you are claiming refugee protection pursuant to section 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[2] Based on your testimony and the other evidence I have in front of me, I find that you are Convention refugees, and that you have established a serious possibility of persecution on account of your religion, because you have converted to Islam to Christianity.
[3] Your allegations are fully set out in your Basis of Claim form.
[4] In summary, you fear persecution at the hands of the government of Iran because you have converted from Islam to Christianity. You also fear not to be able to practise your religion freely in Iran.
[5] As I mentioned, I have no issue with your personal identity. I have that your identities as citizens of Iran was established based on your testimony and supporting documents. You have provided birth certificates, ID cards, and Iranian passports including Canadian visas.
[6] Now with regards to credibility.
[7] Based on the low refugee threshold, on the balance of probabilities, I find that you have converted to Christianity, whatever the reason you have, you did that.
[8] You testified that you found peace in your new religion. And you grew up not being able to choose a religion, and now you feel free to choose the religion of Christianity, which is more tolerant than the Islamic religion. And you found your path. And you converted here in Canada, and you are still learning about your new faith, and you are afraid to return to Iran and not be able to practise and know more about your new religion.
[9] I made my determination in a forward-looking determination. XXXX, you have no subjective fear because you only started to practise your religion here in Canada. You also mentioned that the authorities may know about your conversion, and you also participated in some demonstrations against the government of Iran.
[10] However, as I told you at the beginning, I’m going to concentrate on your religion and just to the fact that you would feel constricted and not be able to practise your religion freely is against human right and the freedom to practise your own religion in total freedom. And because of that, if you do that you may be persecuted by the government of Iran.
[11] And that’s enough to satisfy me, on the balance of probabilities, that you have a well-founded fear of persecution.
[12] This fear is objectively well founded by the objective evidence that we have on file.
[13] It shows that Muslim born in Iran who convert to any other religion can be considered as apostates, which is a criminal offence in Iran. And that the government of Iran would not recognize you as a Christian under the law, even if Christianity and Judaism and Zoroastrianism, are recognized religions in Iran.
[14] So, there is a risk that you may be charged with apostasy or based on the evidence, Christian converts can also be charged as being against the government because they are considered as a threat to the government, and they can be charged as acting against national security or propagating what they call Zionist Christianity.
[15] I have also looked at state protection and the internal flight alternative. And because the State may be the agent of persecution if you are found out to have converted, you have rebutted the presumption of state protection.
[16] And with regard to internal flight alternative, based on the evidence, I find that there is nowhere in Iran where you can go and practise your religion freely without the fear of being arrested and detained by the Iranian authorities.
[17] Therefore, I find there is no viable internal flight alternative available for you in Iran.
[18] To conclude, and based on the totality of the evidence, I find that you are Convention refugee, and accordingly I accept your claim.
——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———