The European Court of Justice has now issued a landmark ruling in the case of an Iranian who fled to Austria and enjoys subsidiary protection. The man converted to Christianity after his escape and claimed in his asylum application, which was rejected, that he would be persecuted for his faith upon return. However, the ECJ does not consider this process to be an “abuse” of the right to asylum.
The man’s first application was rejected by Austrian authorities. In the second attempt (“follow-up application”), the man stated that he had now converted to Christianity and feared that he would be persecuted in Iran as a result. The authorities subsequently granted subsidiary protection and a temporary residence permit, the ECJ statement said. He made it credible that he converted to Christianity out of ‘inner conviction’ and that he ‘actively practices’ the religion. He therefore runs the risk of being prosecuted in Iran.
Follow-up application with new circumstances that do not cover ‘abuse’
However, he was not recognized as a refugee because the reason for persecution (his Christian faith) did not yet exist when the man still lived in Iran. The Court of Justice contradicts this: EU law does not allow the general conclusion that “any subsequent request based on circumstances created by the applicant himself after leaving the country of origin can be traced back to an intention to abuse and the intention to use the procedure to instrumentalize the granting of international protection,” the European judges said.
Each case must be assessed individually. If the person credibly demonstrates that he has changed his religion out of “internal conviction” and that the “requirements to qualify as a refugee” have been met, “refugee status should also be granted.” The administrative court in Vienna must now take this judgment into account in its decision.
Source: Krone
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