Date: 20030225
Docket: IMM-1380-02
Neutral citation: 2003 FCT 227
Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, this 25th day of February, 2003.
Present: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KELEN
Between:
BURHAN BARAN
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
[1] This is an application for judicial review, pursuant to section 18.1 of the Federal Court Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-7, of the decision of the Refugee Division ("Board") of the Immigration and Refugee Board, dated February 25, 2002 wherein the applicant was found not to be a Convention refugee.
[2] The applicant is a citizen of Turkey who claims Convention refugee status based on his Kurdish ethnicity. The applicant alleges that growing up in Turkey he always faced humiliation and harassment. He claims that he was detained and beaten by Turkish authorities in March 1999 and that in December 2000 he was detained and tortured a second time. As a result of these incidents, he decided to flee Turkey.
[3] Based on discrepancies between the narrative contained in the applicant's Personal Information Form ("PIF") and his oral testimony, the Board found him not credible and denied his claim. In particular, many details concerning the two beatings he allegedly received were not included in his PIF. The Board also found his oral testimony on these incidents "belaboured". The Board reviewed documentary evidence on the country conditions in Turkey and concluded that there may be evidence to support an allegation of discrimination against the applicant, but not an allegation of persecution.
[4] The applicant submits that the Board erred because it identified a contradiction in the applicant's evidence and found that detracted from his credibility, but did not find that he lied. This means that the Board must be taken to have accepted the applicant's evidence, see Shahiraj v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2001 FCT 453. Further, the applicant argues that it acted unreasonably in finding him not credible because it did not accept his explanation that he forgot to put details of the beatings into his PIF.
[5] The Board is in the best position to make determinations on matters of credibility and should be accorded a high degree of deference, see Chen v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2002 FCT 1194. The appropriate standard of review for credibility findings is patent unreasonableness.
[6] The applicant has failed to demonstrate that the Board erred in this case. The Board's credibility finding was reasonable and it provided clear and detailed reasons for its conclusion. The decision identified specific inconsistencies and implausibilities in the applicant's evidence on the central aspects of his refugee claim, most notably the discrepancies between his PIF narrative and his oral testimony. It is well-established that discrepancies between a claimant's PIF narrative and oral testimony can be used as a basis for a negative credibility finding, see Grinevich v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1997] F.C.J. No. 444 (T.D.) (QL).
[7] The applicant's argument concerning the Shahiraj case has no weight. The Board did not only find that the inconsistencies detracted from the applicant's credibility, but also explicitly stated that it did not believe critical parts of the applicant's story. After reviewing the applicant's evidence on the alleged incident of torture in December 2000, the Board stated at page 5 of its decision: "the panel finds that on a balance of probabilities the alleged incident did not occur."
[8] Other issues were raised by the applicant in this case, but in light of the Court's opinion that the Board was correct in finding him not credible, there is no need to deal with them.
[9] No questions were posed for certification by the parties. The Court agrees that this case does not raise a question of serious general importance for certification.
ORDER
THE COURT HEREBY ORDERS THAT:
This application for judicial review is dismissed.
"Michael A. Kelen"
J.F.C.C.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
DOCKET: IMM-1380-02
STYLE OF CAUSE: BURHAN BARAN
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2003
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER BY: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KELEN
DATED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2003
APPEARANCES BY: Mr. Micheal Crane
For the Applicant
Ms. Pamela Larmondin
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Mr. Micheal Crane
Barrister & Solicitor
166 Pearl Street, Suite 100
Toronto, ON M5H 1L3
For the Applicant
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
For the Respondent
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