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on May 20, 2022
Our client was a former member of a political party which was considered a “threat to national interest” by the security forces of his home country. Our client was not involved in any illegal activities of the party he belonged to. However, in recent years he became aware of the use of extrajudicial methods in eliminating members of the party to which he belonged.
Our client was born and raised in a politically active family. Our client had lost several family members in the mid ‘90s when the security forces, with the support of the then Government, murdered several people. Our client claimed that many of those killed in those encounters were people whose only crime was to be politically active and who had never been known for any kind of violent acts.
Recent tensions between the political party and the security agencies of the country resulted in thousands of people being illegally detained or killed. Our client was one of those detained. He was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, where he was tortured for several days.
He was eventually released, and was told that they would come back for him if he continued with his political activities. Our client was in fear of his life as he had now been personally targeted by the security forces and given his family’s history, it would only be a matter of time before he would meet the same fate.
In order to secure his safety, he arranged to come to the UK to escape the security forces.
We advised our client that as per the 1951 Geneva Convention, he would need to show that he was scared of returning to his home country as he feared persecution there. He was also advised that because his fear was based on political opinion, there were merits to applying for asylum
After a thorough review of his case, we provided him with a list of documentary evidence to support his asylum claim. Our client was initially reluctant to provide evidence as he feared that if the security forces found out about his claim in the UK, it would place his family in danger in Pakistan.
Our team reassured him that his name would remain anonymous, and we would inform the Home Office of the dangers his family would face. We contacted the Home Office and arranged for his screening interview to formally submit his asylum claim.
In the meantime, our client provided all the documents to support his case so that our experienced immigration team could select the most relevant documents to provide as supporting evidence. We also referred our client to an expert to arrange an expert report, which helped the client’s claim significantly. The report was able to call on instances which confirmed the account given by our client.
Our client attended the substantive interview and provided evidence. Amid the long asylum process and the delay due to COVID-19, we were able to obtain permission from the Home Office for our client to work. Our client worked to support himself financially.
Four months on from the substantive interview, our client was granted refugee status in the UK. The relief was clear to see as our client was now given refugee leave and protection from the UK Government.
If you are fearful of your life and require the protection of the UK Government, please contact us today to discuss how we can assist you.
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