Mirzabeigi v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

Mirzabeigi v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)
Court (s) Database
Federal Court Decisions
Date
2005-02-07
Neutral citation
2005 FC 177
File numbers
IMM-1896-04
Decision Content
Date: 20050207
Docket: IMM-1896-04
Citation: 2005 FC 177
BETWEEN:
MOHSEN MIRZABEIGI
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
SIMPSON, J.
[1] Mohsen Mirzabeigi (the "Applicant") alleges that he is a citizen of Iran and that he was born on April 17, 1971.
[2] On August 15, 1999, the Applicant says that he met his girlfriend, Cathy, who would later become his fiancée. Cathy is a Christian from Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. who was in Iran to take care of her ailing grandmother. The couple dated for approximately three years.
[3] They attended a party on January 3, 2003 which was raided. They were detained for one week and released after bribing authorities. During the Applicant's interrogation, a picture of Cathy was found in his wallet.
[4] Shortly thereafter, at the insistence of Cathy's father, the Applicant converted from Islam to Christianity. For fear of persecution, he told no one but his business associate of seventeen years.
[5] His business associate began threatening to expose the fact that the Applicant had converted. This extortion caused friction between the Applicant and Cathy. In addition, Cathy's grandmother began receiving strange and threatening phone calls. Cathy left Iran on April 23, 2003 without notifying the Applicant.
[6] The Applicant then began to receive threatening phone calls himself and was followed in a threatening manner. Additionally, he received threats that a picture taken with Cathy outside the church on the day of his conversion would be sent to the authorities.
[7] The Applicant arranged to flee Iran with the help of an agent. He allegedly followed the agent's instructions to destroy all his documentation including his valid passport, and letters and pictures pertaining to Cathy.
[8] On June 5, 2003, the Applicant came to Canada and made his refugee claim. Since then he has attended regular church services at the Bayview Church. He obtained a letter from its priest in which he expresses his opinion that the Applicant is a devout Christian who converted to Christianity while in Iran.
[9] The Applicant's hearing was originally set for October 7, 2003. It was adjourned to allow one of his friends to travel to Iran to secure original documents verifying his conversion. On January 6, 2004, the hearing reconvened. The friend had apparently not travelled to Iran. No explanation was provided.
THE DECISION
[10] The Refugee Protection Division (the "RPD")accepted that the Applicant is a citizen of Iran. The RPD also accepted that a person converting from Islam to Christianity in Iran faces serious consequences.
[11] However, the RPD doubted the plausibility of the Applicant's evidence and concluded that there had never been a conversion or a fiancée named Cathy.
[12] The RPD took issue with many aspects of the Applicant's evidence including:
1. the Applicant's lack of any documentation or pictures regarding the existence of Cathy
2. the Applicant's failure to attempt to contact Cathy for assistance with his refugee claim when he knew that she was in Los Angeles
3. the fact that the Applicant would have a picture taken in front of the church on the day of his conversion given the risks involved
4. the sudden extortion from a business associate of seventeen years
5. the destruction of all documentation especially his valid passport
6. the fact that Cathy suddenly abandoned the Applicant without even saying goodbye
7. the complete lack of evidence about the conversion and the lack of any effort to obtain proof of the conversion by contacting the church or the priest in Iran
8. the lack of an adequate explanation for the Applicant's failure to leave Iran with Cathy before his conversion
[13] I have carefully reviewed the Applicant's submissions and can find no reviewable error which would justify a reversal of the RPD's conclusions about the Applicant's credibility. The Applicant's allegations were, as the RPD specified, inherently implausible, and no effort was made to obtain corroborating evidence in situations in which such evidence could reasonably be expected to have been available.
CONCLUSION
[14] For these reasons, an order will be made dismissing the application.
"Sandra J. Simpson"
JUDGE
Ottawa, Ontario
February 7, 2005
FEDERAL COURT
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
DOCKET: IMM-1896-04
STYLE OF CAUSE: MOHSEN MIRZABEIGI
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
REASONS FOR ORDER BY: SIMPSON J.
DATED: FEBRUARY 7, 2005
APPEARANCES BY: Mr. Harvey Savage
For the Applicant
Mr. Stephen Jarvis
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Mr. Harvey Savgage
Barrister & Solicitor
Toronto, Ontario
For the Applicant
John H. Sims, Q.C.
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
For the Respondent
FEDERAL COURT
Date: 20050207
Docket: IMM-1896-04
BETWEEN:
MOHSEN MIRZABEIGI
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER