The appellant sought refugee status. He was a wealthy man, but his life and that of his family had been threatened in Colombia unless he paid 10,000,000 pesos per month to Marxist guerillas.
Held: Such a threat was not sufficient to warrant refugee status. The threat did not arise from a well founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The status of being a land owner did not constitute a social group.
Citations:
Times 29-May-2002, Gazette 13-Jun-2002, [2002] EWCA Civ 620
Links:
Statutes:
Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 (1951) (Cmd 9197), Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 1967 (1967) (Cmnd 3906)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Immigration
Updated: 20 August 2022; Ref: scu.171243