Overview

• An Iranian asylum seeker initially claimed persecution as a sex toy smuggler but was rejected by a lower-tier UK tribunal for inconsistent and implausible evidence.
• The Upper Tribunal granted him refugee status after finding credible evidence of political activism, including participation in nine protests and anti-regime social media posts since 2021.
• Judge Paul Lodato determined the man’s activism was genuine and not a fabricated effort to bolster his asylum claim, despite Home Office objections.
• The tribunal ruled that returning the asylum seeker to Iran would expose him to a real risk of persecution, violating his rights under the Refugee Convention.
• The case highlights challenges in the UK immigration system, including a record backlog of nearly 42,000 human rights appeals delaying case resolutions.