How does a Government decide whether a person is entitled to claim refugee status and remain in its country?

The Australian Government was recently confronted with the issue. Its Refugee Review Tribunal dealt with the complex subject with meticulous care and caution.

The applicant claimed to be a resident of Afghanistan, part of the ethnic minority Hazaras, and a Shi'a Muslim.

He was initially refused refugee status because he was found with a Pakistani passport containing a photo of a person resembling him, so the immigration officer did not believe his claim that he was an Afghani national.

To test the applicant's personal details, the Refugee Review Tribunal considered firstly whether the applicant was a Hazaran, and an Afghani national.

The tribunal noted he had all the common physical features of a Hazaran. It was also satisfied he was a Shi'a Muslim as he could describe the different religious practices of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.

The tribunal then tested his claim to be an Afghani national. He knew the Afghani calendar and important dates in that country. He named the leaders of the Hazara and Shi'a political parties. He answered all their questions without hesitation and used descriptions based on realistic personal experiences.

To ensure he was not someone from another country who knew about Afghanistan, the tribunal employed a language expert who checked his dialect and confirmed his pronunciation, phrases and tonal inflections were typical of Afghani Hazaras.

The tribunal also considered his denial of ownership of the passport. The signature on his refugee application differed from that on the passport, and the applicant pointed out the physical differences between himself and the photo.

The next issue for the tribunal was whether he could claim refugee status. They needed to be satisfied that he was at high risk of persecution if he returned to Afghanistan.

The applicant explained details of the Taliban regime controlling Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesperson told the tribunal that the new constitution would respect the rights of minorities. However, Islamic law punished atheism with death.

The Taliban had begun to persecute the Hazara ethnic group, mainly the Shi'a Muslims. The Taliban had murdered large numbers of Shi'a Hazaras and had stated that all Muslims in areas under Taliban rule had to abide by the Taliban's interpretation if Islamic law. The police enforced rules regarding appearance, dress, employment, medical care, behaviour, religious practice and freedom or expression. Alleged offenders would not be tested by a court, but would be punished on the spot, including beatings and/or detention.

The applicant claimed that just before he left Afghanistan, a Taliban soldier came to his house and ordered him to go to a nearby Taliban center where he was accused of having weapons in his house and put in prison for several days. Each day he was questioned and beaten to make him admit he had weapons. He was told he had to produce the weapons or pay the value of the weapons to the Taliban.

He was released on the understanding that he would find the weapons. When he tried to ask a negotiator to tell the Taliban that he had no weapons, he was told that the offences had already been recorded against him.

The Taliban then arrested him and he was ordered to sell them his land. He was kept overnight and beaten.

The applicant said it was hopeless for him to stay in Afghanistan as he had no land and even if he produced money rather than weapons, the Taliban would continue to think he had weapons and would not leave him alone. He said once the Taliban suspected a person, they would continue to persecute them.

He said a cousin living in another country paid a people smuggler for his trip to Australia. He could not return to Afghanistan as he had escaped illegally. He believed he would be killed if he returned to Afghanistan.

The tribunal was satisfied the Shi'a Hazaras were being persecuted and the applicant would suffer the same fate if he returned. The option of relocating the applicant to another part of Afghanistan was considered and rejected. The Taliban controlled 90 per cent of Afghanistan.

The applicant was declared a refugee and entitled to protection in Australia under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Every year hundreds of Indians also seek refugee status in Australia. Who are our Talibans ?