High Court refuses judicial review of decisions to refuse asylum to Iraqi parents and their son, who claimed to fear religious persecution and persecution due to their son's collusion with US armed forces, on the grounds that they failed to establish substantial grounds to challenge the decisions of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
Judicial review – three members of an Iraqi family challenging decision of Refugee Appeals Tribunal to refuse them asylum - claiming asylum on the grounds that they would suffer persecution from Sunni Muslims as a result of their Shia Muslim faith – claim that they would be persecuted because their son acted as an interpreter for the US army – parents claim that the medical system in Iraq is insufficient to provide care for their medical needs – family received threatening letters – family received no protection from the State – family besieged by neighbours on account of the family's assistance to the Americans – claimed that the were subjected to a grenade attack – material inconsistencies in accounts – son claimed that he was bullied and assaulted at school due to his religion – Refugee Applications Commissioner found that the family had failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution – Tribunal found that the parents lacked credibility – Tribunal member found that there was country of origin information to suggest that people who assisted the American forces were at risk, but this evidence did not alter the decision because of inherent lack of credibility in the parents' account – son's appeal was rejected on grounds of adverse credibility – in both decisions, the Tribunal suggested that the family could relocate internally to an area where Shia Muslims are not at risk of persecution – parents claimed that Tribunal failed to consider the fact that their son had been employed as a translator for the US army – whether there was good and sufficiency reason to extend time to allow the son to challenge Tribunal's decision – whether the internal relocation remarks were alternative findings.