Case Law

1. La requête concerne le possible renvoi au Pakistan du requérant, ressortissant de ce pays, s’étant converti de l’islam au christianisme en Suisse, suite au rejet de sa demande d’asile. Le requérant se plaint que son renvoi lui ferait courir un risque réel pour sa vie ou d’être soumis à des mauvais traitements et que sa liberté de religion serait considérablement entravée.

26 April 2022 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Legal Instrument: 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | Topic(s): Expulsion - Freedom of religion - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) | Countries: Pakistan - Switzerland

the appropriate guidance for a decision-maker can be summarised as follows: i) Is the Claimant genuinely an Ahmadi? In answering that question the guidance set out in paragraph 5 of the headnote in MN is well expressed. ii) The next step involves an inquiry into the Claimant’s behaviour if he or she is returned to Pakistan. Will he or she actually behave in such a way as to attract persecution? In answering that question, the decision-maker will again consider all the evidence and will, where appropriate, expressly consider whether the behaviour claimed by the asylum-seeker is genuinely an expression of their religious belief and is an authentic account of the way they will behave if returned. iii) If the decision-maker’s conclusion is that the Claimant, if returned to Pakistan, will avoid behaviour which would attract persecution, then the decision-maker must ask the question why that would be so. Many possibilities arise. The individual may genuinely wish to live quietly, and would do so whether or not repression existed in relation to the expression of his or her Ahmadi faith. The individual may have mixed motives for such behaviour. If such a quiet expression or manifestation of genuine Ahmadi belief is merely the result of established cultural norms or social pressures, then it is unlikely there will be a basis for asylum. However, if a material reason (and not necessarily the only reason) for such behaviour will be to avoid persecution, then it is likely that the Claimant will have a valid claim for asylum. There is no requirement that public expression of Ahmadi religious faith, of a kind which is likely to attract persecution, should be of “particular importance” to the Claimant. Such a requirement is inconsistent with the test as laid down in HJ (Iran). To that extent, the guidance given in the body of MN (Ahmadis) Pakistan CG and in the headnote is misleading and should not be followed.

6 March 2019 | Judicial Body: United Kingdom: Court of Appeal (England and Wales) | Topic(s): Ahmadis - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) | Countries: Pakistan - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

4 March 2016 | Judicial Body: Australia: Administrative Appeals Tribunal | Topic(s): 1951 Refugee Convention - Ahmadis - Credibility assessment - Freedom of religion - Religious discrimination - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) - Serious non-political crime - Social group discrimination - Social group persecution - Transgression of social / cultural norms | Countries: Australia - Pakistan

4 February 2016 | Judicial Body: Australia: Administrative Appeals Tribunal | Topic(s): Freedom of religion - Internal flight alternative (IFA) / Internal relocation alternative (IRA) / Internal protection alternative (IPA) - Persecution based on political opinion - Religious discrimination - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) - Shia | Countries: Australia - Pakistan

7 September 2015 | Judicial Body: Australia: Administrative Appeals Tribunal | Topic(s): Children-at-risk - Credibility assessment - Freedom of religion - Religious discrimination - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) - Shia - Social group discrimination - Social group persecution - Sunni | Countries: Australia - Pakistan

29 April 2015 | Judicial Body: New Zealand: Immigration and Protection Tribunal | Topic(s): 1951 Refugee Convention - Convention against Torture (CAT) - Freedom of religion - Generalized violence - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - Minority rights - Religious discrimination - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) - Social group persecution - Well-founded fear of persecution - Women-at-risk | Countries: New Zealand - Pakistan

15 December 2014 | Judicial Body: United Kingdom: Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) | Topic(s): Christian - Forced marriage - Internal flight alternative (IFA) / Internal relocation alternative (IRA) / Internal protection alternative (IPA) - Religious discrimination - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) | Countries: Pakistan - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

25 November 2014 | Judicial Body: Switzerland: Tribunal administratif fédéral | Topic(s): Hazara - Religious persecution (including forced conversion) | Countries: Pakistan - Switzerland