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Vallaj, R (on the application of) v Special Adjudicator, Court of Appeal - Administrative Court, December 21, 2000, [2001] INLR 455,[2002] Imm AR 16,[2000] EWHC Admin 438

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Case No: CO/2738/2000

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
CROWN OFFICE LIST
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London,
WC2A 2LL
Thursday 21st December 2000

B e f o r e :

THE HON MR JUSTICE DYSON
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(Transcript of the Handed Down Judgment of
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Mr I. MacDonald QC and Ms S. Harrison (instructed by Messrs A.S.Law for the Applicant)
Mr S. Catchpole (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor for the Respondent)
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Judgment
As Approved by the Court
Crown Copyright ©





Mr Justice Dyson:

Introduction

1. The Claimant is a Kosovar Albanian and a national of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ("FRY"). He applied for asylum in the United Kingdom on the grounds that he had a well-founded fear of persecution in the FRY. The basis of his claim was that he had been beaten up on two occasions by 4 or 5 Serbs who lived in his village in Kosovo. He also claimed that he had been living in a tent because his house had been burnt down, and had decided to leave Kosovo in fear of his life in late March 2000.

2. In a letter dated 12 April 2000, the Secretary of State refused the application. So far as material, the letter stated:

"6. The Secretary of State considers that you could have attempted to seek redress through the proper authorities before seeking international protection. While he is aware that there are security difficulties in Kosovo, which the UN administration is seeking to address, he has concluded that you would not be at risk of persecution for a Convention reason there.

7. Further doubts as to your alleged fear of persecution can be drawn from the fact that you did not leave Kosovo until two months after the second alleged attack on you by the Serbs. The Secretary of State holds the view that if your fear of persecution by the Serbs was genuine you would have left Kosovo at the earliest opportunity and the fact that you did not casts doubt on the veracity and credibility of your claim.

8. With regard to the letter received from you r representative on 11th April 2000, the Secretary of State would comment as follows:

The letter claimed that the attacks by Serbs were carried out in an organised manner in order to intimidate you. However, the Secretary of State considers that there is no suggestion that the two claimed attacks were more than random criminality, particularly as the incidents were two or three months apart.
The letter claimed that it is "common knowledge that ethnic Albanians are discriminated against and persecuted by the Serbs". However, the Secretary of State considers that following the Kosovar war such discrimination no longer applies, and it is considered that Serbs are, in fact, vulnerable in Kosovo because of revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians.
9. In the l...
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