Tribunal decisions

The decision

Upper Tribunal
(Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Appeal Number: PA/13798/2018

THE IMMIGRATION ACTS

Heard at Manchester
Decision & Reasons Promulgated
On 26th June 2019
On 05th July 2019

Before

Upper Tribunal Judge Chalkley

Between

Sisay [B]
(ANONYMITY DIRECTION NOT MADE)
Appellant
and

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT
Respondent

Representation:
For the Appellant: Mr I Majid, instructed by J D Spicer Zeb Solicitors
For the Respondent: Mr M Diwnycz, Senior Home Office Presenting Officer

REASONS FOR FINDING AN ERROR OF LAW

1. The appellant is a citizen of Ethiopia who was born on 29th February 1992, and who arrived in the United Kingdom clandestinely on 7th June 2018. The appellant claimed asylum the same day but on 29th November 2018, the respondent refused to recognise the appellant as a refuge or to grant humanitarian protection. He gave directions for the appellant's removal to Ethiopia and it was against that decision that the appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal. His appeal was heard by First-tier Tribunal Judge Lange on 12th March 2019, in Manchester.

2. The basis for the appellant's claim was that having been born and lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia he married in October 2014 and had a child. He lived with his grandparents, father, wife and son. He claims that on 9 June 2015, after he and a friend had been discussing politics at a coffee shop, he was detained by the police for some three months. Following that detention, he started to support Patriotic Ginbot 7 (PG7).

3. He attended meetings, made financial contributions and claims to have handed out leaflets for it. He says that he was arrested following a meeting he attended when it was raided by police on 30th September 2016, and claims that on that occasion he was detained for some five or six months. He says that he was tortured and interrogated, but managed to escape after an uncle bribed the police and he was helped by an agent to leave Ethiopia.

4. He claims that his wife has told him that police have twice visited looking for him, although she knew nothing of his political activities. He left Ethiopia on 2nd March 2017 and spent six days in Sudan and then travelled to Libya. He was there for some five months where he was forced to work by agents. He then travelled to Italy, which took four days and he remained in Italy for a month and then travelled to France where he remained for nine months before coming to June. The appellant claimed that since he had been in the United Kingdom he had been involved in activities on behalf of PG7 in the United Kingdom and claimed in all oral evidence that he had attended two meetings in the United Kingdom.

5. The judge had dealt with the appellant's asylum claim but did not consider the risk to this appellant as a result of his sur place activities. At the hearing before me this morning, both representatives agreed that the determination could not stand and should be set aside. I set aside the determination given the material error of law in it. The appellant has effectively been denied a hearing and I therefore remit this matter to be heard afresh by the First-tier Tribunal before a judge other than First-tier Tribunal Judge Lange.

No anonymity direction is made.

Richard Chalkley
Upper Tribunal Judge Chalkley

Dated 02 July 2019