Date: 20000531
Docket: IMM-1633-99
Ottawa, Ontario, this 31st day of May 2000
PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PELLETIER
BETWEEN :
QUAZI ZAKEERUL HAQUE
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
PELLETIER J.
[1] The applicant is a refugee claimant from Bangladesh who fled his country because of political violence. The Convention Refugee Determination Division ("CRDD") found him to lack credibility solely on the basis of improbabilities. There were no contradictions in his evidence. The only basis for finding that the applicant was not telling the truth was the CRDD"s view of the course of life in Bangladesh, a matter on which it claims to have special expertise.
[2] The applicant comes from a politically active family. His father was politically active for decades. He was jailed as a political prisoner during the Ershad regime. His father was elected union1 chairman of Shologhar from 1964 to 1984. He was replaced in that position by another who would one day retire. The applicant had thoughts of seeking that position. He enrolled in the BNP party in 1989 and was an activist from the time of joining till he left the country. He was jailed and tortured for his political activity but persisted. He was the victim of violence in the June 12, 1996 election when Awami League goons, led by Lebu Gazi firebombed the BNP offices and sprayed them with gunfire. Two of his colleagues were killed in the attack. The applicant complained to the police but nothing came of it. The BNP candidates were elected in the applicant"s area but the Awami League formed the government. This led to a campaign of harassment against BNP supporters.
[3] The applicant provided evidence of this in his Personal Information Form, which was supported by documentary evidence put before the CRDD by his counsel. That evidence tended to show the following:
| - Abdul Hye, MP for Munshiganj 4 was reported in the press on June 17, 1996 as saying that Awami League activists were attacking BNP leaders, workers and supporters and setting their residences on fire. False cases were being filed against BNP leaders and workers. |
| - Abdulrahman, the general secretary of the BNP, is quoted on July 20, 1996 saying that attacks had been carried out on BNP workers in various places including the applicant"s district. |
| - Abdulrahman is quoted on August 13, 1996 as saying that in Munshiganj, the applicant"s district, several thousand dwelling houses of BNP workers were burned by Awami League activists. |
| - Abdul Hye and others are quoted in the press on September 5, 1996 protesting the arrest of BNP officials in Munshiganj and demanding their release. |
| - On September 25, 1996, there was a report of the arrest of another BNP offficial from the Munshiganj district. In the same report, the official being quoted alleges that the government is taking BNP workers and leaders into custody under section 54 and the Special Powers Act2. |
[4] The applicant testified that on August 15, 1996, his house was fire bombed and an attack was made on his life by a group of goons led by the same Lebu Gazi. The applicant fled and made his way to his sister"s home in Dhaka. From there he contacted his brother on August 17, 1996 who made inquiries of the police and was informed that the police would not help. On August 18th , the applicant called the police himself from Chittagong and was told again that he could expect no help from them. On August 25th, the applicant learned that police were looking to arrest him under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedures. The applicant moved a number of times in Bangladesh following reports that the police were continuing to look for him. The applicant and his family eventually moved to India in August 1997, hoping to get to Canada but the smuggler could not manage documentation for all of them so he decided to go ahead alone. Before he left, he returned his family to Bangladesh in November 1997 so his wife could stay with her sister in law in Dhaka. The applicant left Dhaka on December 5, 1997 and eventually arrived in Canada on January 6, 1998 where he made a refugee claim on January 22, 1998.
[5] The CRDD found that the applicant"s claim failed for lack of credibility as a result of various improbabilities. Among these was a letter addressed to the applicant by a lawyer in Bangladesh which the CRDD discounted because the lawyer referred to section 54 without referring to the statute which the section is drawn from. Another improbability was the applicant"s calling the police to ask if they would assist him when the police were looking for him. In fact, the applicant did not learn that the police were looking for him until some time later. The CRDD did not believe that the applicant"s profile as a political operative was such that he would be targeted by the Awami League goons. Finally, the CRDD felt that the applicant"s credibility was impaired by the fact that he returned to Bangladesh to settle his family before leaving to come to Canada.
[6] Reasonable people could disagree about the CRDD"s conclusions, particularly their assessment of the lawyer"s letter. However, it is their function to assess the evidence and in the absence of findings which the evidence could not reasonably support, their findings should not be disturbed. For those reasons, the application for judicial review is dismissed.
ORDER
The decision of the CRDD dated March 11, 1999, the reasons for which are dated March 9, 1999 is hereby dismissed.
"J.D. Denis Pelletier"
Judge
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1 A union is a political unit made up of a group of villages or districts.
2 Tribunal Record pages 824 to 828