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Immigration Barrister Gita Patel’s Iranian Kurdish Asylum Case

Kenworthy's Chambers | May 29, 2024

This case study details how Immigration Barrister Gita Patel won an Iranian Kurdish man’s asylum appeal who was wanted by the Iranian authorities for distributing Kurdish political party leaflets.

Client Story

Gita Patel’s client was a Kurdish national of Iran. He lived in a village close to Mariwan near the border with Iraq with his wife, son, and daughter.

Like an estimated 80,000-100,000 Kurdish Iranians, he worked as a Kolbar or Smuggler taking dangerous, often illegal, jobs carrying goods on his back across the borders of Iran.

He was introduced to the trade, literally translated from Kurdish as ‘one who carries a load’, by a friend, who became a close friend through working together for a long time.

One day, whilst out doing kolbar work, he was caught in an ambush by Iranian authorities. He was subsequently arrested, beaten, and detained.

He was let out after 18 days when his dad paid 5M Tomen (about £100) for his release. At this point, he had been beaten so badly that he needed treatment at the Bu Ali Hospital in Mariwan.

Following this traumatic experience, the friends started to converse about the Komala party, whom he eventually agreed to help after much further persuasion, providing them with food on occasions over the next year.

The Komala party is a separatist social democratic political party that has been exiled by the Iranian government.

Thereafter he began distributing Komala party leaflets and putting publications up on walls.

In August 2019, he got news from his friend that another mutual friend had been arrested by the Iranian authorities. Worried about his safety, he went to stay at his uncle’s.

The next day authorities raided his house and arrested his father, so when his cousin was able to collect his wife and children and reunite them, they decided to leave Iran.

The Kurdish family left Iran on foot and travelled through Turkey, Italy, and other countries before arriving in the UK by boat on December 4th, 2019. They claimed asylum on the same day.

Since arriving in the UK, the father of two became politically active, attending demonstrations and posting political content on Facebook.

His case was that he faces a risk on return to Iran due to his political opinion, activities in Iran, and activities in the UK.

The Home Office accepted that he came from Iran, was Kurdish, and had exited Iran illegally with his family. However, they did not accept he worked as a Kolbar or attracted the adverse attention of the Iranian authorities in support of the Komala party because his account was considered insufficiently detailed and internally inconsistent. The Home Office also did not accept his claim to be politically active in the UK because they claim his account was lacking in detail and because of insufficient evidence.

Background

Iran shares a 1458-kilometer-long border with Iraq, with 500km of that passing through the Kurdistan region. This mountainous border region which the family called home was economically underdeveloped, experienced high unemployment rates and was home to smuggling on a huge scale.

A report from The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime states that smuggling goods across the border has been happening for decades with well-organised criminal networks becoming consolidated over time.

Amnesty International notes that discrimination and unfavourable treatment towards ethnic minorities is common in Iran. Kurds face problems accessing employment, housing, and land, and are restricted in what they can say and publish.

The Kolbar or Smugglers who carry goods from secret collection points in the mountains across the Iraqi border to the Iranian border are exclusively Kurdish.

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) strengthened its presence in Northwest Iran and has attacked Kurdish villages on both sides of the border. Government Border Guards have tortured and killed hundreds of Border Couriers or Kolbar.

In Iran, the authorities assume that every young active Kurdish individual is connected to a political party. People who are arrested are therefore often accused of membership in such. Many individuals who are accused of having ties with Kurdish political parties can be innocent.

To become a member of a Kurdish political group, people in the Kurdish region of Iran must connect through secret networks or by approaching existing members before passing some background checks. However, people caught with Komala party leaflets are likely to be arrested, tortured, and forced into confessing they belong to the party.

How Kenworthy’s Chambers Helped

It was up to Gita Patel to persuade the Judge that her client was at risk because he had worked as a Kolbar in Iran and that he was involved in distributing Komala party leaflets, putting them on walls.

She also had to persuade the Judge that because of his activities in Iran he was wanted by the Iranian authorities and that political activities in the UK against the Iranian regime would also put him at risk on return.

Immigration Barrister Gita Patel drafted a skeleton argument in the case setting out the issues that had to be decided by the Judge and her client’s case on those issues.

In her oral submissions, Gita Patel drew the Judge’s attention to the Kurdish man’s evidence in his witness statements and the interviews with the Home Office. She pointed out to the Judge the background evidence and various country guidance case law that supported the Kurd’s case. Especially these cases: HB Iran [2018] UKUT 00430, BA (Demonstrators in Britain - risk on return) Iran CG [2011] UKUT 36 (IAC), and SSH and HR (illegal exit: failed asylum seeker) Iran CG [2016] UKUT 308 (IAC).

Gita Patel argued that the evidence put forward by her client was, contrary to what was asserted by the Home Office, detailed, consistent, and could be externally verified so the Judge had no reason to disbelieve him. This was crucial in a case where there was no expert evidence or experts to call upon and the whole case rested on the credibility of the claim.

Everything presented matched the available information from reports on the region. This helped the Judge rule in favour of the Iranian man and his family and secure a positive outcome for the client.

The Results

Traditionally, Kurds have separatist tendencies, like that of the Komala. So, as the Judge noted, there is nothing unusual about Kurds becoming involved in assisting the Komala by smuggling. This is exactly what happened when Gita Patel’s client supplied the Komala with food items.

Being a local, his face would not attract attention if out delivering leaflets. Plus, his background of facing discrimination and poverty is reasonably likely to have politicized him and provided motivation to join the Komala separatist movement. The Judge found this line of reasoning particularly compelling.

The Judge acknowledged Gita Patel’s client was a Kurd from Iran and found it reasonably likely that the appellant worked as a Kolbar and participated in distributing leaflets for the Komala party. They agreed the evidence about his job as a Kolbar was detailed, not vague as the Home Office attested, and furthermore, there was consistency between the background evidence supplied and his personal account of working as a Kolbar and distributing political leaflets.

The Judge believed that their smuggling and activities for the Komala Party had gained attention consequently the family faced adverse attention from the Iranian authorities. Meaning that the family had a legitimate fear of persecution because the Iranian regime will perceive them as being politically motivated against them.

The Judge accepted that if the Kurd’s account was found to be credible then he would be at risk on return to Iran, as per the country guidance case law Gita Patel had put forward, especially the case of HB Iran.

Being of Kurdish ethnicity, the family is likely to be subjected to heightened scrutiny on return to Iran, and, given they had come to the adverse attention of the authorities before leaving it is likely they would be arrested and detained on return to the country.

It was accepted by the judge as per the case law highlighted to him that Kurds involved in political activity are at risk of arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse by the Iranian authorities. Indeed, those suspected of, or perceived to be involved in, Kurdish political activities or supporting Kurdish rights are likely to garner an extreme reaction from the Iranian authorities.

Having a well-founded fear of persecution for holding a political belief is protected by the Refugee Convention.

The Judge granted anonymity and allowed the appeal.

Speaking about her success in this case Immigration Barrister Gita Patel said: “I am so happy for my client, his wife, and children not only because they had to endure extremely tough circumstances to come here and seek asylum but also because they had to wait over three years to find out the outcome of their case.

“If what I do makes a difference to a person’s life, then it is well worth it.”

Gita Patel is a specialist in immigration and human rights cases as noted by The Legal 500.

To check the availability of Immigration Barrister Gita Patel for your asylum case call our Immigration Clerks Courtney Soden and Daniella Howarth on 0161 832 4036, e-mail [email protected], [email protected] or fill out our contact form.