Iranian man loses bid to enter New Zealand

Photo / File

An Iranian man who came to New Zealand three years ago seeking asylum on the grounds he would be persecuted for his Christianity has lost his bid to enter the country as a refugee because authorities did not believe him.

The 48-year-old man, known as BV in court documents, attempted to claim refugee status because he had converted to Christianity as a teenager.

But authorities here believed his attendance at church services in New Zealand was merely a ruse to "boost his claim".

The man also claimed to have taken part in an anti-government protest at a bazaar in Iran which had brought him to the attention of the authorities, who had been inquiring into his whereabouts since.

However, his claim was rejected by a Refugee and Protection Officer three months after he arrived at a New Zealand airport asking for refugee status in 2011, as the officer doubted the credibility of his evidence.

He appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, which also ruled against his application.

The Court of Appeal also dismissed his bid.

While independent evidence had confirmed the protest at the bazaar had taken place, it had been in 2010, and not in 2009 as BV had claimed.

"The decision makers did not believe his claim to involvement in the strike or to being pursued as a consequence," Justice Simon France said in his decision.

"Likewise his claimed conversion to Christianity almost 30 years earlier was rejected. Current attendances whilst in New Zealand at Christian services were assessed as being new conduct designed to boost his claim."

The ruling said BV's evidence contained "significant inconsistencies within each version and across versions".

The tribunal had looked at his evidence using the correct 2010 date of the protest and found "in some instances it created implausibility; on a few occasions impossibility in terms of the timeframes".

"The simple reality is that BV's account was, again, not believed," Justice France said.

The man had not demonstrated how he practised his faith since his "alleged conversion" to Christianity, at age 18 after watching a television programme, he said.

Justice France ruled that the decision to refuse him asylum was justified, and dismissed the appeal.