Reaction to Court of Appeal judgment in AA

Reaction to Court of Appeal judgment in AA

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The following is a reaction by the Refugee Legal Centre to the Court of Appeal judgment in the case of AA v Secretary of State for the Home Department delivered on March 6, 2007:

"THE Refugee Legal Centre welcomes the Court of Appeal decision to order the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal to reconsider whether Zimbabweans who have claimed asylum in the UK are at risk of human rights abuse if returned to Zimbabwe.

The Court of Appeal considered that the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal had failed to properly scrutinise the evidence in the case.

That evidence showed that failed asylum seekers risked being subjected to serious violence by agents of the Zimbabwean Government's Central Intelligence Organisation stationed at Harare airport.

Thea Rogers, Deputy Chief Executive of the Refugee Legal Centre, said:

"We are delighted that the Court of Appeal considers that this test case must
be looked at again by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal The Refugee Legal Centre represents the applicant in this case and maintained that there were serious concerns about the way in which the Asylum Immigration Tribunal considered the matter.

The Government has put a great deal of time, money and effort into defending this test case, but in our view the evidence reveals a risk that Zimbabweans who exercise their right to claim asylum in the UK are at risk of serious violence if returned to Harare Airport.

The Government should not just maintain its ban on forcibly removing Zimbabweans asylum seekers from the UK to Harare Airport, but should also grant them protection in the UK until the situation in Zimbabwe improves, allowing them to work and support themselves."
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