Date: 19990803
Docket: IMM-120-99
BETWEEN:
DENIS SHEHU
(By his Litigation Guardian EMINE XHELILAJ)
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
SIMPSON J.
[1] Denis Shehu (the "Applicant") aged 12 years, is a citizen of Albania who seeks Convention refugee status in Canada. His litigation guardian is his aunt, Emine Xhelilaj.
[2] The Applicant left Albania on November 6, 1997 and flew to the United States via Italy, arriving on November 7th. He entered Canada at Niagara Falls, Ontario, on November 8, 1997 and filed his claim for Convention refugee status on November 10, 1997.
[3] The two-member Board heard the Applicant"s claim on October 27, 1998, and rendered its decision on December 4, 1998.
THE FACTS
[4] The history of the overthrow of the communist regime in Albania is central to this case. In 1992, the Communist Party was replaced by the Democratic Party. It remained in power until the elections in June of 1997. By then, the Democratic Party had lost the electors" confidence due to pyramid scheme failures which cost many Albanians their savings. Accordingly, in June of 1997 the Socialist Party won the election. The Socialist Party is said to be a reincarnation of the former Communist Party.
[5] The Applicant claims Convention refugee status on the basis that his life is at risk because of his father"s political opinion. His father is an outspoken and active member of the Democratic Party in Albania. He was persecuted by members of the Socialist Party. His father has fled from the family home in the city of Vlore, Albania, and is in hiding in Greece. The Applicant"s father fears that, according to Albanian tradition, his only son will be targeted for persecution if he returns to Albania. Hereinafter, the Applicant"s father will be referred to as his "Father".
[6] The following is a chronology of the events leading to the Applicant"s Convention
refugee claim. It is based on the narrative in the Applicant"s Personal Information Form:
February-March 1997 - the Democratic Party government lost control of the country, and the city of Vlore in particular. Socialist Party gangs threatened to kill the Father who was a prominent Democratic Party member. Most of the threats came from a neighbour named Arif Qafoku (the "Neighbour"). He was a hard line communist who had been a member of the Albanian secret police under the former Communist regime.
April 1997 - The Father was badly beaten by a socialist gang of men when he refused to agree to stop working for the Democratic Party.
May 1997 - After the beating incident, the Father moved his family (including the Applicant) to live with a relative in another town (Shkoder). The Father remained in Vlore. He and his employer, also a Democratic Party member, were again beaten because of their refusal to give up their party ties, and the employer had to close the shop where he worked. One of the assailants was a man named Broka, who is now a member of the secret police.
June 1997 - The Father campaigned for the Democratic Party prior to the elections scheduled for June 29, 1997. He was an observer at the polling booth but refused to sign the election results because of voting irregularities. As a result, he was badly beaten and spent five days in hospital. The Applicant"s house in Vlore was burned down on the night of the beating.
July 1997 - The Father"s brothers transferred him to a hospital in Tirana for his safety. Upon his release from hospital, he rejoined his family in Shkoder.
July-November 1997 - The Applicant"s family remained in hiding in Shkoder. They heard of the killings of 5 Democratic party members by the Socialist Party, and learned that their Neighbour was once again a member of the secret police.
November 6, 1997 - The Applicant was sent to Canada to live with his Father"s sister in Toronto.
December 1997 - The Father fled to Greece.
THE BOARD"S DECISION
[7] The Board did not find a nexus between the persecution suffered by the Father and the definition of a Convention refugee. The Board concluded that the Neighbour was the sole agent of persecution and that their disagreements, while politically motivated at first, became entirely personal.
ISSUE
[8] The Applicant alleges that the Board erred in characterizing the motivation for the Father"s persecution as personal rather than political.
DISCUSSION
[9] I can find absolutely no basis in the evidence to justify the Board"s conclusion that the Father was being persecuted for personal rather than political reasons. Indeed, it is clear to me that the persecution experienced by the Father was fuelled entirely by his position as a Democratic Party supporter. In these circumstances, even though the persecution may have been directed by the Neighbour, with whom the Father was personally acquainted, the persecution remained politically motivated. Accordingly, there is a nexus to the Definition of a Convention refugee.
CONCLUSION
[10] An order will be made granting the application for judicial review and directing a rehearing.
"Sandra J. Simpson"
Judge
Toronto, Ontario
August 3, 1999
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
| COURT NO: IMM-120-99 |
| STYLE OF CAUSE: DENIS SHEHU |
| (By his Litigation Guardian EMINE ZHELILAJ) |
| - and - |
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
| DATE OF HEARING: TUESDAY, JULY 27, 1999 |
| PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO |
| REASONS FOR ORDER BY: SIMPSON J. |
DATED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1999
APPEARANCES: Mr. Micheal T. Crane
For the Applicant
Mr. Stephen J. Gold
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Micheal T. Crane
| Barrister & Solicitor |
| 200-166 Pearl Street |
| Toronto, Ontario |
| M5H 1L3 |
| For the Applicant |
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
For the Respondent
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Date:19990803
Docket: IMM-120-99
Between:
| DENIS SHEHU |
| (By his Litigation Guardian EMINE XHELILAJ) |
Applicant
- and -
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER