2023 RLLR 200
Citation: 2023 RLLR 200
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: December 13, 2023
Panel: Philip Schwarz
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Khesrau Ahmadi
Country: Rwanda
RPD Number: TC3-21401
Associated RPD Number(s): N/A
ATIP Number: A-2024-01010
ATIP Pages: N/A
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: This is the decision of the Refugee Protection Division for XXXX XXXX. You are claiming to be a citizen of Rwanda and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[2] Your allegations are fully set out in your Basis of Claim form. In short, you fear imprisonment and a risk to your life in Rwanda on the basis of your imputed political opinion. I find that you would face a serious possibility of persecution in Rwanda, and you are a Convention refugee on the ground of your imputed political opinion. Your personal identity has been established on a balance of probabilities by your testimony and a copy of your Rwandan passport found in Exhibit 1. I find that you have a nexus, on a balance of probabilities, to the Convention based on your imputed political opinion due to your father’s membership of the FDU opposition party.
[3] In terms of your general credibility, I found you to be a credible witness and therefore believe what you have alleged in your oral testimony and Basis of Claim form. Your evidence was detailed and consistent, both internally and with your documentation. Throughout the hearing, you were articulate, responsive and forthright. You were able to elaborate on your narrative and give explanations to the questions that I asked. There were no material inconsistencies, contradictions, or omissions that were not reasonably explained, such that the presumption of truthfulness can be rebutted. You testified that your father was a member of the FDU party since 2009 in Rwanda because he wanted to see Rwanda become a free democracy. You testified that his issues with the RPF began after he refused to give 65 percent of his business for the RPF, which further alerted the party to your father’s opposition to the RPF. While you were unaware of his political involvement when you were growing up, you realized that his political opinions and opposition to the RPF made him and your family a target, leading to your father’s imprisonment in 2010, your mother’s death later on that same year, and your older brother’s disappearance in 2011.
[4] To support these allegations, you provided a police report for your father, a death certificate for your mother, and a press release of your brother. Based on your consistent and unembellished testimony accompanied by this documentary evidence, I find, on a balance of probabilities, that you have established your father’s anti-government political opinion and the harm your family has experienced in Rwanda because of it. You further testified in detail about your experience at the Rwanda Investigations Bureau headquarters, or RIB headquarters, after XXXX 2020, where you were first questioned and detained for a week. You testified about how you were released after a week when they realized you could not provide meaningful intel about the FDU and its members and were then treated at a hospital and cared for by your aunt during your recovery. You further provided a summons from the RIB and medical documents related to your treatment after you were released. You said that even if you were to return, you fear they will still come after you because they may suspect you to be a member at any time. You further testified about how other members of your family, including your aunt and your stepmother, have received threats and been questioned by the RIB like you have. Based on the straightforward and spontaneous testimony accompanied with this documentary evidence, I find, on a balance of probabilities, that you were personally detained and targeted based on your imputed political opinion and have a forward-facing risk if you were to return.
[5] The documents you provided contain a level of detail one (1) would expect of said documents, and they do not have any unexplained issues on their face that outweigh the overall credibility of your testimony. There are no inconsistencies or contradictions with your testimony and your personalized evidence, which include medical documents, RIB summons, police reports and an (inaudible) press release. I therefore assign them significant weight in corroborating your core allegations. Accordingly, on the whole, in terms of your general credibility, I found you to be a credible witness and therefore accept what you have alleged in your oral testimony and Basis of Claim form. The evidence therefore establishes, on a balance of probabilities, that you have been targeted due to your family’s connection, particularly your father’s membership, to the FDU. I therefore find that your subjective fear is established by your credible and corroborated testimony.
[6] The NDP for Rwanda reports that the ruling political party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by President Paul Kagame, has targeted political dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists, including Rwandan residents abroad. The Rwandan authorities can suppress any political dissension and do so through means such as pervasive surveillance, intimidation, rendition, torture, and suspected assassinations. They have also been known to demote people or detain them or even force individuals to leave Rwanda. Further, common treatment for political dissidents includes investigations of properties, harassment, financial prosecution, harassment of relatives, withholding of legal documents, temporary detention without cause followed by release without explanation, prosecution for non-existent crimes, spying on correspondence, threats to relatives living abroad, stalking and other measures that make life difficult. In addition, the Rwandan judiciary is a tool by which the government perpetuates authoritarian rule by prosecuting opponents and critics. Sources in the NDP also explained that once a person is perceived as a political opponent by the Rwandan government, it is difficult to shed this label and the Rwandan government maintains an interest in the activities of any person who is a vocal critic of the RPF or president.
[7] In addition, there have been reports of local officials and state security forces detaining and imprisoning individuals who disagree publicly with the government decisions or policies. Further, despite the Rwandan constitution providing for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, the Rwandan government generally did not tolerate criticism of the presidency and government police on security, human rights, and other matters deemed sensitive. The objective evidence also states that the passage of time does not diminish the risk faced by political opponents of the government. There are cases of Rwandans living outside the country having been threatened, attacked, forcibly disappeared or killed in apparent retaliation for their public or suspected opposition to the regime. Based on this evidence, I find there is, on a balance of probabilities, an objective basis for your fears. As subjective fear and objective basis have been established, I find that you have a well-founded fear of persecution in Rwanda. Considering the objective evidence and that the state is the agent of persecution, I find that it would be objectively unreasonable for you to seek state protection in Rwanda. I therefore find on a balance of probabilities that you would be unable to access adequate state protection in Rwanda and that the presumption of state protection has been rebutted in this case.
[8] For similar reasons, I find that there is nowhere in Rwanda where you could relocate and be safe. Rwanda is a small country that has control over its entire territory and the political situation is similar throughout the country. I therefore find that there is no safe alternative where you could reside outside the reach of the RPF. I therefore find that there is a serious possibility of persecution for you throughout Rwanda.
[9] In conclusion, based on the totality of the evidence and my analysis above, I find that you have established a serious possibility of persecution on a Convention ground in Rwanda. I therefore find you to be a Convention refugee pursuant to section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and I accept your claim.
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