Date: 20041029
Docket: IMM-9367-03
Citation: 2004 FC 1532
Toronto, Ontario, October 29th, 2004
Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice Campbell
BETWEEN:
KASHMEER ALIGOUR
JOANNA ALIGOUR
JASON KADIR ALIGOUR (minor)
AARON KASEEB ALIGOUR (minor)
Applicants
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
[1] In the present application, the principal Applicant claims refugee protection on the basis of political opinion; according to the Applicant's evidence, the risk of persecution is at the hands of the "Black Muslim Movement" in Trinidad.
[2] At the beginning of his Personal Information Form ("PIF"), the principal Applicant clearly states the precipitating event which triggered a well documented history of violence directed at him by members of the Black Muslim Movement. The statement in the PIF is as follows:
I come from a Muslim family of Indian heritage in Trinidad and I had my secondary education and thereafter went into our family business of selling jewelleries. Surrounding my home are Indian Trinidad who are equally Muslims and old time family friends of us. These Indian Trinidadian neighbours some time used to visit our jewellery shop in order to purchase jewelleries. At a time, they started to solicit for finance from us in order to improve the condition of our mosque and establish more in different places. Keeping in mind that their request was honest, we made several donations in cash to them. On May 3, 1987, some Africans Trinidadian and Indians came in to the jewellery shop to request us to join "Black Muslim Movement" in order to improve the welfare of the people and eradicate the high class people so as to provide equal opportunities to people. My response to their suggestion was to get back to them later. Meanwhile, I contacted some of my friends who eventually told me to report to Trinidad and Tobago authorities. With the assistance of our friends, report was made to the police and action was taken against these identified "Black Muslims" Movement members. The police recovered some arms and many documents from these black Muslim Movement members and some of them we detained including our neighbours who were trying to solicit our membership. Surprisedly enough these black Muslim Movement members were informed by the police that I reported them hence, they were arrested. These people were released and we became target to the whole "Black Muslims Movement Members". [Emphasis added]
(Tribunal Record, p. 63)
[3] In its decision, the IRB accepts a "Crime Report" generated by the Chaguanas Police Station in Trinidad, dated September 12, 2003, as support for the Applicant's evidence of violence against him. The contents of this document read as follows:
Crime Report
This is to confirm from our crime record that the family and friends of Aligour came to report on 5th August 2001 at about 11:15 p.m. regarding murder attempt against Mr. Kashmer Aligour and his family in their jewellery store at New Grant, Trinidad.
Our investigation revealed that they were group of black Muslims who had wanted to extort and initiate them into their surversive activities. Further still, our record indicates that this group had previously burgled the Aligour's residential home and vandalized valuable property on 28th march 1989. The police record shows of several reports of threat to the lives of Mr. Kashmeer Aligour's family at different occasions. These reports were accepted and referred to crime unit for further investigation.
(Applicant's Application Record, p. 72)
However, it is very clear that the acceptance by the IRB of the Applicant's evidence about the event which precipitated the violence is central to his claim. On this issue, the IRB said as follows:
When the claimant was asked why he as an Indian and business person, would be considered for membership in the Black Muslim Movement, he testified that the membership was a mixture of people of all races.
In the "Political Handbook of the World: 1999" it says:
" A far greater embarrassment to the administration was an attempted coup by members of a militant Black Muslim sect, the Jamaat-el-Muslimeen, on July 27, 1990"
There is no mention in the documentary evidence of Indian, Chinese or White "Black Muslims", and the panel finds based on this information from an independent source, that on a balance of probabilities, the Black Muslim Movement is essentially a Black Movement. The claimant, who is an East Indian businessman, is a very unlikely candidate for membership in this organization, which allegedly called on him to help destroy his own clan (Indian Businessman).
(Tribunal Decision, p.5)
[4] A perusal of the transcript of the Applicant's evidence at the hearing before the IRB confirms that the membership of the Black Muslim Movement is both Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian (Tribunal Record, pp. 257-258). It is readily apparent from the portion of the IRB's decision just quoted that the Applicant's evidence respecting the ethnicity of the membership of the Black Muslim Movement was not believed. Indeed, the IRB found that only Afro-Trinidadians could belong to the Black Muslims Movement. I find that this conclusion is erroneous.
[5] The quotation from the "Political Handbook of the World: 1999" supplies no evidence of the actual membership of the group concerned. The fact that no evidence is provided in the documentary evidence of mixed ethnicity of members of the group does not prove that it is exclusive to only Afro-Trinidadians. On this basis, I find that the IRB's statement that "on a balance of probabilities, the Black Muslim Movement is essentially a black movement" is pure speculation unsubstantiated by the evidence. Indeed, it is in direct conflict with the evidence of the Applicant. Therefore, I find the conclusion is unsupported by the evidence.
[6] Since the membership of the Black Muslim Movement is a pivotal feature of the Applicant's claim of persecution, and since the conclusion on this feature is erroneously made, I find that the error renders the IRB's decision as patently unreasonable.
ORDER
Accordingly, I set aside the IRB's decision and refer the matter back to a differently constituted panel for redetermination.
"Douglas R. Campbell"
J.F.C.
FEDERAL COURT
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: IMM-9367-03
STYLE OF CAUSE: KASHMEER ALIGOUR
JOANNA ALIGOUR
JASON KADIR ALIGOUR (minor)
AARON KASEEB ALIGOUR (minor)
Applicants
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: OCTOBER 28, 2004
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER BY: CAMPBELL J.
DATED: OCTOBER 29, 2004
APPEARANCES BY:
Bola Adetunji FOR THE APPLICANTS
John Loncar FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Bola Adetunji
Barrister & Solicitor
Toronto, Ontario FOR THE APPLICANTS
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Toronto Ontario FOR THE RESPONDENT
FEDERAL COURT
Date: 20041029
Docket: IMM-9367-03
BETWEEN:
KASHMEER ALIGOUR
JOANNA ALIGOUR
JASON KADIR ALIGOUR (minor)
AARON KASEEB ALIGOUR (minor)
Applicants
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER