The applicant W.H., who applied for asylum in Sweden, was determined as not having a plausible case for refugee status. In particular, to the applicant’s claims that she would be forced into marriage upon her return to Iraq, the Migration Board noted that she would not lack a “male network” since her brother had also been rejected for receiving asylum in Sweden. The ECtHR upheld Sweden’s decision to reject the applicant’s application for asylum.
EXCERPT:
10. On 31 October 2008 the Migration Board (Migrationsverket) rejected the application and ordered the applicant’s deportation to Iraq. The Board held that she had not proved her identity, but that she had made it plausible that she was from Iraq. It further considered that the situation in Iraq as such did not constitute grounds for asylum. While noting that Mandaeans were an exposed minority, their general situation did not suffice either for an individual be granted protection, but his or her personal circumstances would have to be assessed. The Board went on to state that the applicant had not submitted any written evidence in support of her allegations of persecution. Furthermore, she had received a threat on only one occasion and it had not been shown that the person threatening her had referred to her religious beliefs. Nor was there any other indication that she had been ill-treated on account of those beliefs or that she had received other threats before leaving Iraq. The Board then noted that the applicant’s brother, who had also applied for asylum in Sweden, had had his application rejected and his deportation to Iraq ordered and that, consequently, the applicant would likely not lack a male network upon return to Iraq. In conclusion, the Board found that she had not made it probable that she was at personal risk of being subjected to serious ill-treatment if she returned to Iraq.
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