Supreme Court, ordinanza no. 38101/2021 (Italy)

Italy: Supreme Court dismisses rejection of LGBT asylum seeker from Nigeria

On the 2 December 2021, the Supreme Court released its decision following a rejected appeal from the Tribunal of Venice of a Nigerian asylum seeker’s claim for international protection. The applicant concerned had applied for international protection on the basis of persecution and threats experienced due to his homosexuality. These claims were rejected on appeal by the Tribunal for their apparent generic nature and contradictory statements. The Tribunal further determined that there was no generalised armed conflict or a level of generalised violence to constitute a risk of violence to the applicant.

The Supreme Court firstly set out its disagreement of the Tribunal’s finding against the applicant’s credibility. Moreover, the Court referred to the CJEU joined cases C-148/13 to C-150/13 and the principles set out therein, concerning the assessment of sexual orientation, as well as human dignity under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Court determined that the Tribunal had failed to take these principles into account and had not carried out an investigation into the situation for homosexuals in Nigeria, thereby failing in its duty to cooperate in the investigation. In light of this, the Supreme Court upheld the grounds of the appeal and quashed the judgment of the Tribunal of Venice.

Based on an unofficial translation within the ELENA team

[Source: ELENA Weekly Legal Update – 14 January 2022]