Overview

• The Upper Tier Tribunal on July 9 confirmed a First-tier ruling that HR, an Iraqi Kurd asylum seeker, faces persecution in Iraq because his speech impediment shaped genuine political beliefs.
• Judge Christopher Hanson rejected the Home Office’s appeal and its argument that HR could return safely if he deleted critical Facebook posts.
• HR told the tribunal he had been mocked, humiliated and abused in Iraqi Kurdistan for his speech impediment and that friends vanished after similar social-media criticism of authorities.
• It marks the first time UK courts have recognised disability-forged political belief as grounds for asylum protection, extending earlier rulings on honour-based violence, torture and identity barriers.
• Government ministers are now advancing proposals to raise the threshold for judges to grant residence under ECHR Articles 3 and 8, aiming to curb judicial discretion in human rights claims.