December 12, 2014
An Iranian man who came to New Zealand three years ago seeking asylum on the grounds he would be persecuted for his Christianity has lost his bid to enter the country as a refugee because authorities at three different levels do not believe him.
The 48-year-old man, known as BV in court documents, attempted to claim refugee status based on converting to Christianity as a teenager. But authorities believed his attendance at church services in New Zealand was merely a ruse.
The man also claimed to have taken part in an anti-government protest at a bazaar in Iran that brought him to the attention of the authorities.
However, his claim was rejected by a refugee officer three months after he arrived at a New Zealand airport asking for refugee status in 2011, as the officer doubted the credibility of his evidence.
He then appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, which also ruled against his application.
And now the Court of Appeal has also dismissed his request.
While independent evidence confirmed the protest at the bazaar had taken place, it was in 2010, and not in 2009 as BV had claimed, NZME, New Zealand’s largest media chain, reported.
“The decision makers did not believe his claim to involvement in the strike or to being pursued as a consequence,” Justice Simon France wrote in his decision.
“Likewise his claimed conversion to Christianity almost 30 years earlier was rejected. Current attendances whilst in New Zealand at Christian services were assessed as being new conduct designed to boost his claim.”
The ruling said BV’s evidence contained “significant inconsistencies within each version and across versions…. The simple reality is that BV’s account was, again, not believed,” Justice France said.
The man had not demonstrated how he practiced his faith since his “alleged conversion” to Christianity, at age 18 after watching a television program, he said.
The report did not say if New Zealand would now endeavor to deport BV back to Iran.