The applicant, Iranian national, lodged an application for international protection with the Rhodes Regional Asylum Office on 25 June 2019.  He was interviewed in Farsi on 27 June 2019 and a negative decision was notified to him on 19 July 2019. He appealed against and the Appeals authority noted that during the personal interview the applicant invoked a fear of persecution upon return to Iran based on his homosexuality. The appeals authority noted that the applicant contested the negative decision with regard to his allegations of sexual orientation. The appeal authority mentioned that issue of sexual orientation of an applicant shall be assessed in accordance with art. 7 and 21 (1) of the EU Charter and art. 8 jointly with art. 14 of the ECHR. Moreover, article 4 of the Qualification Directive requires Member States to examine all applications for international protection irrespective of the various grounds for persecution listed in Article 10. It results that applicants who claim refugee status on the ground that they are homosexual and belong to a particular social group within the meaning of Article 10(1)(d) are not exempt from the assessment process under the Directive. Article 4(1) imposes a positive obligation on Member States to act in cooperation with the applicant to assess the critical elements of his or her application. The assessment must be made on an individual basis and include consideration of its individual situation and personal circumstances.

The Appeals Authority noted that the procedure for assessing the credibility of the applicant’s claim and the detailed questions concerning his sexual activities and motives were contrary to articles 3 and 7 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights because the nature of those questions infringe the integrity of the individual. Those questiones were considered by the Appeals Authority as intrusive and violating the respect for private and family life as well as having a questionable probative weight in the context of an application for international protection. The Appeal Authority reasoned its judgement by referring to the case A., B., C. vs Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie (NL), 02/12/2014, where the  CJEU ruled on credibility assessment of the declared sexual orientation of applicants for asylum.

The Appeals Authority also took into consideration the situation in Iran where sexual minorities are often subject to abuses and harassment by state actors, according to human rights organisations’ reports.

The Appeals Authority further analysed possibility to benefit from state actors protection and internal protection to conclude that based on all elements available and the situation in Iran, the applicant’s appeal is admissible and he should be granted refugee status.