The First-tier Tribunal has allowed a protection appeal by a national of El Salvador. Gary’s client – who was not involved in gangs – was threatened by gang members on his way home. The judge accepted Gary’s submission that reporting the threats to the police would be seen by the gangs as a political act. Accordingly, Gary’s client was a member of a particular social group according to the Refugee Convention. The judge accepted that the gangs’ reach in El Salvador was such that internal relocation was not a viable option, and that the authorities were unwilling and unable to offer protection. The judge accepted that regardless of the client’s intention, the issue was how the agents of persecution would see the act of reporting. In this case, the gangs would impute a political motivation to Gary’s client. The judge allowed the appeal on asylum and human rights grounds. Gary’s submissions were based on the Home Office’s own Country Policy and Information Note and the recent Country Guidance case of EMAP (Gang violence, Convention Reason) [2022] UKUT 335 (IAC). Gary was instructed by Sriharans Solicitors.
