2023 RLLR 163

Citation: 2023 RLLR 163
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: December 4, 2023
Panel: Ayoni Shaibu
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Paul Vandervennen
Country: Ethiopia
RPD Number: TC3-16928
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2024-00894
ATIP Pages: N/A

 

DECISION

 

[1] MEMBER: All right. So, this is the decision of the Refugee Protection Division for XXXX XXXX XXXX. You allege you are a citizen of Ethiopia, and you are claiming refugee protection pursuant to section 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. I have considered your testimony and the other evidence on file, and I am ready to render my decision orally. The written decision will come to you in the mail shortly.

 

ALLEGATIONS

 

[2] The full details of your allegations are set out in your Basis of Claim form found at Exhibit 2 and 2.1. In summary, you allege fear of being detained, tortured, and possibly killed by the police due to your Tigrayan ethnicity, your perceived support of Tigray forces, and for your outspokenness against the Ethiopian government in Germany. You also allege fear of being attacked and possibly killed by Qeerroo and Fano and other groups due to your ethnicity. 

 

[3] You allege that you were born in XXXX to Ethiopian parents and raised in Eastern Zone of Tigray and that you are basically a Tigrayan belonging to the XXXX ethnic minority group. You allege that you schooled in Tigray and you also worked in Tigray as well as in Mekele in Tigray. You allege that you also furthered your education in Germany and that while in Ethiopia, you worked as a XXXX, first with a XXXX XXXX known as XXXX, and then you also worked at the XXXX, and then — just one (1) moment — you worked in XXXX XXXX in Ethiopia while you were at the XXXX XXXX (inaudible).  

 

[4] You allege that while you working as a XXXX with XXXX XXXX, the Ethiopian government declared war on Tigray. And because you were in Mekele at the time when Ethiopian troops, Amhara Fano, and Amhara militias, and special forces of Amhara, and other special forces of other regions of Ethiopia, as well as Eritrean troops invaded Tigray, you could not stay there any longer as a XXXX because XXXX were targeted. And for that reason, you went to Addis Ababa. 

 

[5] You allege that on arrival in Addis Ababa on XXXX XXXX, 2020, you were detained and questioned about your affiliation with the government of Tigray. You were released XXXX XXXX XXXX. You allege that in XXXX of 2021, you were detained a second time by the police and investigated on accusations of supporting the Tigray government. You were detained for a longer period, until the XXXX of XXXX, 2022. You were released on bail and on signing an agreement to appear at the station whenever you are requested. 

 

[6] You allege that you left Ethiopia in XXXX of 2021 because you had made an application to study in Germany and it was approved about that time. And while in Germany, you continued to show your support for Tigrayans and XXXX in Germany and your opposition to the war as well. You allege that in Germany, your life was threatened by Amhara and Oromo members who were affiliated with the Ethiopian government in Frankfurt and you felt your life — they were threatening your life at that time. You had applied to attend a conference in Canada, and once your visa was granted, you came to Canada for the purpose of attending that conference, which was scheduled for XXXX 2022. 

 

[7] On arrival in Canada, you received a call from your uncle, who informed you that the police were at his home looking for you. And the next day, you got the call from his wife, who told you that the police have detained her husband, your uncle. And you allege for this reason, you are not able to return to Germany because of the threats from Amhara and Oromos. And because a friend had told you that there was a refugee crisis in Europe, you decided to make a claim in Canada. I see that this claim was made in December of 2022, shortly after your arrival. 

 

DETERMINATION

 

[8] For the reasons that follow, I find you are a Convention refugee, as there exists serious possibility of persecution, should you return to Ethiopia, on account of your Tigrayan ethnicity and your profile as a XXXX. 

 

Identity

 

[9] I find your identity as a citizen of Ethiopia is established on a balance of probabilities by your oral testimony and your Ethiopian passport seized, found at Exhibit 1. 

 

Nexus

 

[10] I find there is a link between your alleged fear of harm and at least one (1) of the Convention grounds. In this case, your Tigrayan ethnicity and your membership in a particular social group, as a XXXX. I have therefore assessed your claim pursuant to section 96 of the Act.

 

Credibility and Subjective Fear

 

[11] Pursuant to the Maldonado principle, in refugee claims, when a claimant swears to the truth of their allegations, this creates a presumption that those allegations are true, unless there is a reason to doubt their truthfulness. I find you to be a credible witness overall, as you testified consistently with the allegations in your narrative. You were spontaneous and you were also forthright in your responses. I did not observe any major omissions or inconsistencies that go to the core of your claim or that undermine the core of your claim. You were able to provide details as that of someone telling their story that they have experienced firsthand. 

 

[12] You testified about your work, testified about your stay in Germany and your activities, political activities to show support — sorry, to show support for Tigrayans and to show your opposition to the war in Tigray. You also testified about the two (2) detentions that you alleged in your narrative. Your testimony, like I mentioned, was consistent and straightforward, and there were no inconsistencies that I observed. You testified about the call that you received from your uncle about his detention, which prompted you to make your claim in Canada, and why you fear returning to Ethiopia. You have also testified about your Tigrayan ethnicity as well, which is connected to being born in XXXX, which is also considered part of Tigrayans. 

 

[13] I have considered the documents that you have provided to support your claim. These are found at Exhibit 5. I have no reasons to doubt their authenticity. I have not had the opportunity to look at the links that you provided, but I found that the other documents which you have provided, which I will itemize, did speak to your core allegations. There is a letter from the XXXX XXXX in Toronto that speaks to your Tigrayan ethnicity. Outside that, there is your Kebele ID card, which also shows that you were born in XXXX in Tigray. Your educational documents or record also show that you studied in Tigray Region. Same as your employment documents as well, they show your ties to the region. 

 

[14] I have also considered bail receipt which corroborates your testimony about your second detention, and the witness letters from the different XXXX XXXX as well as employment documents that show the nature of your work, which is tied to XXXX and XXXX. Specifically, I am referring to the letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX (ph) in Germany regarding the threats that you received from Fano and Qeerroo members, which the XXXX was aware of. There is a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which is a society that advocates for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in Tigray, that speaks to the challenges that the minority group, XXXX, face in Tigray. There is a support letter from your uncle, who was detained in Addis Ababa, again, corroborates your allegations and your fear of returning to Tigray — or Ethiopia. There is a letter from your friend in Germany who is now in Ireland and speaks to your activities in Germany as well to show your opposition to the government of Ethiopia. Just one (1) moment. There is also a support letter from a colleague as well at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that also speaks to your activities as well. And then, I have seen pictures as well of you participating in demonstrations in Frankfurt with members of the Tigray community in XXXX 2021 and XXXX of 2022. 

 

[15] I find that these documents, in the absence of concerns about their credibility, corroborate your allegations. I accept that you were a XXXX while in Ethiopia, before you left on the second visit to Germany. That, in Germany, you continued to express your support for Tigrayans in Ethiopia by participating in demonstrations and by showing the world your opposition to the war in Tigray. I also accept that your uncle was detained, as alleged, on a balance of probabilities because of your activities as well. I accept that you are a XXXX Tigrayan, as alleged, on a balance of probabilities as well. I find your profile as a XXXX is also established on a balance of probabilities. 

 

[16] I asked about why you did not make a claim in Germany, but you testified that your fear of returning to Ethiopia crystallized after you arrived in Canada and got the call from your uncle. As such, I have not made any adverse inference from your failure to claim in Germany. 

 

[17] I also noted that you were in Rwanda briefly in XXXX 2022, but again, you testified that you did not have any fear of returning — your main fear of returning to Ethiopia arose after you got the call from your uncle about the police looking for you and the subsequent detention. 

 

[18] I am satisfied with your testimony and the documents which you have provided. I find that you have established your profile as Tigrayan who is under the watch of the Ethiopian government and perceived to be connected to the TPLF. On a balance of probabilities, I find your subjective fear is established.

 

Objective Basis 

 

[19] I have considered the National Documentation Package for Ethiopia. I find that it supports your subjective fear of arbitrary detention and arrest in Tigray — in Ethiopia based on your Tigrayan profile and your perceived political opinion. 

 

[20] Item 1.35 of the objective evidence indicates that since the war started in northern Ethiopia in November 2020, that there has been a crackdown on the press, which has worsened and undermined credible documentation of verification of human rights abuses and attacks. The same item, 1.35, reports that since the state of emergency was lifted in February 2022, reactions to the conflict have continued to affect all persons of Tigrayan origin because Tigrayans are suspected by the authorities of affiliation with the TPLF. The same report indicates that Tigrayans outside Tigray are exposed to widespread discrimination, persistent threats, and deprivation of liberty. Detainees have been subjected to unlawful treatment, while armed and organized groups and individuals have conducted ethnic-motivated killings, physical injury, and destruction or looting of property against civilians across many parts of the country. 

 

[21] This is also found in Item 13.12. Item 13.12 of the objective evidence reports that Tigrayans are currently the most targeted people and that there is a general impression that they are losing their citizenship rights across Ethiopia because they are suspected by the ruling party, the federal government, of being affiliated to or supporting TPLF, that is Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front. 

 

[22] Item 13.11 indicates that despite the truce reached in 2022, ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans still persists. 

 

[23] The country condition documents provided by Counsel found at Exhibit 5 also speaks to the Tigray war ending and ongoing challenges for displaced persons, including minority XXXX, who are in Tigray. 

 

[24] Item 2.1 reports of significant human rights issues, including credible reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings, extrajudicial killings by the government, and forced disappearance by the government, arbitrary arrest and detention, serious restrictions on freedom of expression, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrest of journalists, and censorship. It reports that the government took limited steps to prosecute officials who committed human rights abuses or were involved in corruption, resulting in impunity for most abuses. 

 

[25] Given the state of the objective evidence, which I find is consistent with your fear, I find you have established an objectively well-founded fear of persecution in Ethiopia.

 

State Protection

 

[26] I find that the primary agent of persecution is the state. And based on the objective evidence, I find it would be unreasonable for you to seek the protection of the state in Ethiopia based on your profile as a Tigrayan and a XXXX. I find the presumption of adequate state protection has therefore been rebutted on a balance of probabilities. 

 

Internal Flight Alternative 

 

[27] I have examined whether a viable internal flight alternative exists for you in Ethiopia. Once again, the primary agent of persecution is the state, and the objective evidence indicates that persons with your profile are targeted by the authorities and by other ethnic minority groups, and they are treated similarly throughout the country. I am satisfied on a balance of probabilities that you therefore face a serious possibility of persecution, should you return there, and that you do not have a viable internal flight alternative in Ethiopia.

 

[28] Based on the totality of the evidence, I conclude that you are a Convention refugee pursuant to section 96 of the Act, and I accept your claim.

 

——— REASONS CONCLUDED ———