Refugee who moved back to Turkey for 9 years and changed his name gets another chance to stay in Canada
A Turkish citizen who lost his refugee status in Canada after allegedly depositing counterfeit cheques at a Canadian bank and moving home for nine years has won another shot at regaining his status here as a protected person.
Musa Durmus was granted refugee protection in Canada in January 2001 “based on his fear of persecution due to his political activity and Kurdish identity,” according to a recent Federal Court ruling out of Toronto.
After over 12 years in Canada, Durmus returned to Turkey, where he bribed a judge to change his first name, remained for about nine years, married and had two children, said the decision.
Durmus “has a grade five-level education and limited knowledge of English,” it said.
He applied for permanent residence in Canada shortly after his refugee claim was granted “but his application remained in progress for many years and remained pending when he left Canada in January 2012.”
Durmus “alleged that shortly after arriving (back) in Turkey, he was arrested and beaten by government officials,” said the decision.
“Shortly after, Mr. Durmus paid a bribe to have his first name legally changed and then obtained a national identification card and a Turkish passport with this new name. For approximately the next nine years, Mr. Durmus lived in Turkey. He was employed there, got married, bought a home and had two children.”
Durmus “also alleged that he was politically active in Turkey during this time and that in 2016 was detained and beaten on account of his political activity.
In March 2021, Durmus left Turkey with his wife and children.
“They went to the United States via Mexico. Approximately two months later, in May 2021, Mr. Durmus entered Canada. Mr. Durmus’ wife and children later entered Canada and were permitted to file refugee claims. Their refugee claims were accepted on the basis of their association with Mr. Durmus,” said the decision.
In his wife and children’s case, the RPD found that “given the past detentions of the claimants’ husband/father and his heavy involvement in Canadian Kurdish community activities, that there is a serious possibility that the claimants would face harm if they were to return to Turkey due to their familial connection to him that would amount to persecution.”
Shortly after Durmus returned to Canada, Canada’s immigration minister at the time applied to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) “for cessation of his convention refugee status.“
It found in September 2023 that Durmus had “voluntarily reavailed himself of the protection of Turkey,” which resulted in Durmus losing his protected person status in Canada.
The RPD did not make a finding on the circumstances that led to his departure from Canada, said the decision. “The RPD found that even if it accepted Mr. Durmus’ version of events, his return to Turkey was voluntary. The RPD weighed various factors, including Mr. Durmus’ lack of understanding of the immigration consequences of his return to Turkey and the security precautions he took, specifically his name change, but found that overall, given the length of time and the nature of Mr. Durmus’ activities in Turkey, his intention to reavail had been established. The RPD further found that Mr. Durmus received actual diplomatic protection.”
The circumstances surrounding his departure from Canada in January 2012 “are not clear and were not ultimately determined by the RPD,” Justice Lobat Sadrehashemi wrote in her Jan. 9 decision.
“The minister alleged that a few days prior to leaving Canada, Mr. Durmus deposited counterfeit cheques at a Canadian bank. Approximately ten months later, the York Regional Police issued a warrant for Mr. Durmus’ arrest.”
For his part, Durmus testified he returned to Turkey “because his father had a surgery the year prior, his own mental health difficulties relating to his repeated interviews with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the lengthy delay in processing his permanent resident application,” said the decision.
The “determinative issue” for the judge was the RPD’s treatment of his name change in Turkey.
“The RPD accepted that Mr. Durmus had changed his name and lived under a different name in Turkey for most of the nine years he was living there,” Sadrehashemi said.
“The RPD’s treatment of this key issue and how it impacted its analysis of his intention to reavail and whether he received ‘actual’ protection is not adequately explained. The decision is unreasonable because it does not allow us to ‘understand the decision maker’s reasoning on a critical point’ and leaves unanswered questions that are central to determining the application.”
The judge allowed Durmus’ application for judicial review.
“The RPD decision dated September 14, 2023 is quashed and the matter is sent back to be redetermined by a different decision-maker,” Sadrehashemi said.
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