Latest news with #First-tierTribunal
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Migrant can stay in UK to escape his wicked stepmother
A Guinean asylum seeker has been allowed to remain in the UK after escaping his wicked stepmother. A judge has ruled that the man, now in his early 20s, would be likely to be punished by his wicked stepmother if he were to return after fleeing the country to escape her. An immigration tribunal heard the unnamed man was 'physically abused' and forced to work long hours by his father's first wife after his biological parents both died in a car accident. The asylum seeker managed to secretly save money to send his younger brother away and was eventually able to flee to the UK with the help of a family friend. The tribunal heard that if he were to return to the West African country, he would be punished by his stepmother for 'disobeying' her and violating social norms. The asylum seeker – who was granted anonymity – has won a human rights claim to remain in the UK. The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example uncovered by The Telegraph where illegal migrants or convicted foreign criminals have been able to remain in the UK or halt their deportations on human rights grounds. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has announced plans to curb judges' powers to block deportations with new legally-enforced 'common sense' rules to clarify how judges interpret the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and strengthen the public interest test. The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber heard the young man's father was 'relatively wealthy', owned a large estate, and had two wives. In 2016, when he was just 14, both of his parents were killed in a car accident. His younger sister was sent away to live with a grandparent while he and his younger brother were 'required' to remain in the family compound with his father's first wife. The tribunal said: 'She, and those around her, physically abused the boys, forcing them to work long hours and punishing them if they refused to do so.' It was heard that this type of situation is 'not unusual' in Guinea, and that children of other wives are often 'vulnerable' to 'exploitation and abuse' when they are without the protection of blood relatives. The man – who made his asylum claim in 2019 – managed to 'secretly' save enough money to 'send his little brother away', it was heard. Then, some time later, a friend of his late father – who was then living in Germany – arranged for a passport and visa for the young man and paid for his travel to the UK. Expert evidence provided to the tribunal said that if the man were to be returned to Guinea, he would be 'subject to stigmatisation by society due to him violating the social norms of his tribe'. This related to him 'disobeying and escaping' his father's first wife. The tribunal heard there would be an 'expectation' that his stepmother should 'severely physically punish him to reinstate the social balance'. The First-tier Tribunal accepted this account and he was allowed to remain in the UK, on both protection and human rights grounds. The asylum seeker was found to be 'a vulnerable witness' who 'cannot be held responsible for the actions of the family friend who fraudulently obtained a passport and visa on his behalf'. The Home Office attempted to appeal the decision by the First-tier Tribunal, arguing that they had failed to find that the man would be 'treated differently'. It said they failed to provide adequate reasons as to why the man's fear of his stepmother amounted to an 'innate characteristic that singles him out for different treatment by the rest of society'. However, the appeal was dismissed in its entirety by the Upper Tribunal, which upheld the earlier decision. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Iranian asylum seeker who argued he can't be deported because he's a 'sex toy smuggler' wins fight to stay in Britain
An Iranian asylum seeker who said he can't be deported because of his X-rated job as a 'sex toy smuggler' has been allowed to remain in Britain. The asylum seeker who applied for refugee status in the UK claimed that Iranian authorities looked on him 'adversely' for ferrying boxes of vibrators and other adult devices across the border. Under Sharia law, which is implemented by the Iranian government, sex toys are illegal, there is also a travel ban on bringing adult devices into the country. But the 'elaborate' argument made by the Iranian man, who has not been named, was dismissed by the British Asylum court. Instead, he was allowed to stay because he protested against the Iranian regime in London. The man, who came to the UK around four years ago, initially took the case to the First-tier Tribunal where he said he has come to the 'adverse attention of the Iranian authorities as a smuggler of sex toys'. But it was heard that the tribunal did not buy all of his story as he had given 'inconsistent evidence about the number of boxes he smuggled'. The First-tier Tribuna (FTT)l found that the Iranian's political expressions at demonstrations and subsequent anti-Iran posts on Facebook were not genuine and were a ruse to help him secure refugee status. However, the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber found the FTT made a mistake. Upper Tribunal Judge Paul Lodato said the man attended nine demonstrations outside the Iranian Embassy in London. Judge Lodato found that the Iranian would face 'real risk of persecution' in his home country and the man won his appeal on 'refugee convention' grounds. He said: 'While it would be difficult to disagree with the FTT judge's findings that he could not be described as a central or prominent figure among these crowds, what this pattern of conduct does tend to show is that he has been committed to protesting against the Iranian regime over a period of almost four years since soon after he arrived in the UK. 'The [Home Office] argued that the fact that the [Iranian] began to engage in political activity so soon after he arrived tends to align with a fabricated claim which was being bolstered by false... activity. 'When looking at this pattern of behaviour through the lens of the standard of a reasonable degree of likelihood, it strikes me as far more likely that the [Iranian] has conducted himself in this way as soon as he was free to do so, and has continued to do so, because he was motivated by a genuine sense of political grievance. 'It can be seen that he has been posting anti-regime and pro-Kurdish rhetoric on a regular basis since October 2021. 'I have carefully considered the timing of his posts to assess whether his political opinions betrayed the mechanical and routine postings which might be expected of a metronomic and cynical excise designed to bolster a false asylum claim. 'I could discern no such patterns. Instead, the frequency resonated with a more natural engagement with political social media of this nature.'
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Yahoo
Judge allows Jamaican drug dealer to avoid deportation after being told he has a transgender child
A judge has allowed a Jamaican drug dealer to avoid deportation after being told he has a transgender child. An immigration tribunal was told that the girl only speaks to her father, who is the subject of an anonymity order and known only as GH, about her gender identity issues and does not discuss these with her mother. Judge Sarah Pinder, who sits in the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, found that the career criminal's mixed-race children would have 'unmet emotional needs linked not just to the loss of a parent but to the loss of the parent who represents half of their cultural identity'. It was therefore judged 'unduly harsh' on them to deport him – even though they witnessed him beating their mother. GH arrived in Britain in October 1991 aged 15, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in April 1993. He served jail time for numerous offences between 2007 and 2015. In March 2021 he was convicted of supplying crack cocaine and heroin and sentenced to 40 months in prison, at which point his deportation was ordered. He appealed this under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act and his case was heard in October 2023 by Judge C L Taylor at the First-tier Tribunal. The judge found that GH had 'a genuine and subsisting parental relationship' with his children, although it was 'limited' and he was separated from the mother, who had no difficulty caring for them while he was in prison. But, the judge found: 'One of the Appellant's children became withdrawn when the Appellant went to prison and she continued to struggle even after his release. The same child was experiencing issues with her gender identity, which she had only been able to discuss with her father.' A social worker then reported that deportation 'would cause the children emotional harm and potentially negatively impact upon all areas of the children's development, including key areas of identity, family and social relationships'. The judge went on to rule that 'deportation would be unduly harsh upon the Appellant's children' and that '(g)iven their cultural identity the harshness which the deportation would cause for them is elevated beyond just harshness to undue harshness and is of a sufficiently elevated degree to outweigh the public interest'. Home Office lawyers questioned how GH could be said to be a 'positive influence' in his children's lives, given that they had witnessed his domestic abuse of their mother and his 'extensive criminal record'. But Judge Pinder stated: 'The Respondent's first submission under this ground is surprising considering the Respondent had accepted that the Appellant had a genuine parental relationship with his children...I consider that the Respondent's first ground is no more than a mere disagreement with the Judge's findings and an attempt to re-argue her case in this Tribunal.' Pinder added: 'It is also well established that a parent who has contact, or spends time with their children, as opposed to living with them, comes within the definition of genuine parental relationship.' She concluded: 'With regards to the cultural and racial identity, that finding was also open to the Judge on the evidence before them particularly when one of the Appellant's children was already experiencing questions concerning her gender identity and could not speak about this with anyone else other than her father…In the circumstances, I dismiss the Respondent Secretary of State's appeal and order that the decision of the Judge shall stand.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
