Iraqi asylum seeker can stay in Britain after being mocked in his home country over his speech impediment - as tribunal rules he'd be persecuted there because of his political beliefs
The unnamed Kurd told an immigration tribunal he had been 'mistreated, humiliated and abused' as a result of his disability.
He claimed the experience 'forged' his political beliefs which now put him at risk of persecution if he is returned to the Middle Eastern country.
The Home Office argued that as long as the Kurdish man deleted his Facebook, containing statements critical of the authorities, he could safely go back to his home country.
However, the Upper Tier of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber found that the Iraqi could not be expected to conceal his 'genuinely held' political beliefs 'forged by his disability' in order to avoid persecution.
The hearing was told the asylum seeker, who was granted anonymity and referred to only as HR, had attended multiple demonstrations in Iraqi Kurdistan to voice his opinion against the government.
'HR is a citizen of Iraq of Kurdish ethnicity who claimed to have been mistreated, humiliated and abused in Iraq due to his speech impediment,' it was told.
In December 2017, he claimed he was beaten up at a protest to deter him from taking part in future ones, suffering an injury to his right ear.
Five years later at another demonstration he claims he was detained for 24 hours.
The tribunal heard he experienced 'humiliating and degrading treatment' and was 'mocked' for his disability.
The Iraqi also posted critical comments about the authorities on social media and claims friends had been 'made to disappear' over similar posts.
He told the court this left him with 'no choice' but to leave Iraq on a tourist visa to Turkey in August 2022.
On arrival in the UK, he made a protection claim in October 2022 which was rejected by the Home Office who argued he could delete his Facebook account and safely return to the Middle Eastern country.
The asylum seeker has also continued his political activities whilst in the UK.
After he appealed the government's decision, the First-tier Tribunal of the court granted the Iraqi the right to stay on the grounds his political views were genuine.
It ruled they were 'forged by his experience as a disabled person' and he could not be expected to conceal them when interviewed by the authorities on his return.
The lower chamber also found, in agreement with the Home Office, that whilst the asylum seeker's speech impediment had influenced his political views, the treatment he experienced as a result of it only amounted to discrimination and not persecution.
The Home Office appealed the decision arguing adequate reasons for allowing the Iraqi to stay had not been given, he was not of interest to the authorities, and had not been persecuted.
They added it was 'improbable' he would argue for the rights of disabled people because there is assistance for them in Iraqi Kurdistan and there was no expert country report showing the demonstrations he mentioned took place.
These grounds were dismissed by the Upper Tier Tribunal because they had not been argued before the lower chamber.
Upper Tribunal Judge Christopher Hanson concluded the First-tier Tribunal made no error in law in deciding the Iraqi's political views would put him at risk if he returned and he could not be expected to conceal them.
He said: '[The First-tier Tribunal] does not dispute that [the Iraqi] will be able to express his genuinely held political views forged by his experience as a disabled person or that his existing political profile is low.
'The key point is that... [the Iraqi] has a characteristic, namely his political opinion, which could cause him to fear persecution and that if he expresses that on return it would put him at risk of persecution from the authorities.
'The key point made by the [First-tier Tribunal] is that the Appellant cannot be expected to conceal his political opinion to avoid persecution.'
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