Zimbabwe asylum case referred back to AIT

Zimbabwe asylum case referred back to AIT

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By Staff Reporter

THE Court of Appeal on Tuesday referred a key case for Zimbabwean asylum seekers back to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) with a direction that the lower court must revisit some of the oral evidence that it rejected.

Appeal Court judges, while overly satisfied with the AIT's ruling that there was no "automatic risk" of deported Zimbabweans "being subjected to persecution or serious mistreatment", were critical of the lower court for rejecting some oral evidence in support of a Zimbabwean known as AA, who brought the case.

Noble Sibanda, a spokesman for the United Network of Detained Zimbabweans which has been campaigning for the release of Zimbabweans held in detention camps, said the decision was a "small victory for the Home Office".

He said Tuesday: "You could see it as a reprieve for Zimbabwean asylum seekers who cannot be deported until the matter is exhausted through the UK's lengthy legal process. It buys time for Zimbabweans who remain uncertain about their future.

"But the overall picture is that the Court of Appeal referred the case back to the same judges who made the first decision, and it goes without saying that they are unlikely to easily bend their thoughts and reverse their initial decision.

"That's what the Home Office wanted, and that's what they got. So you could see it as a small victory for them."

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From 2002, the British government adopted a policy of freezing all deportations to Zimbabwe due to concerns over human rights abuses by President Robert Mugabe's regime.

That moratorium was lifted in 2005, and an estimated 300 failed asylum seekers were returned to Zimbabwe, not all forcibly. The deportations were halted in 2005 after the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) ruled Zimbabwe was unsafe for ALL failed asylum seekers.

Its ruling in a test case meant, in effect, that the very act of claiming asylum in the UK endangered Zimbabweans so the government was obliged to protect them.

But in April 2006, the High Court ordered the AIT to reconsider its decision following an appeal by the Home Secretary.

When the AIT reconsidered the matter, it decided that there was "no automatic risk" for all Zimbabwean asylum seekers forcibly removed from Britain. The Refugee Legal Centre, whose lawyers are representing AA, appealed to the Court of Appeal leading to Tuesday's decision.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne has indicated that Britain will resume deportations if the Home Office wins the case.

Byrne said the government remained "deeply concerned" about the appalling human rights situation in Zimbabwe and recognised there were Zimbabweans who were in genuine fear of persecution, but deportations were also necessary.

"Enforcing the return of those who have no right to remain here is a key part of upholding a robust and fair asylum system. It is therefore essential that we resume returns to send a clear signal to those who come here believing they can abuse the system that they will not be allowed to stay unless they have a genuine need for protection," he said.
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