Brussels, 05/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - In a ruling on Wednesday 5 September in combined cases C-71/11 and C-99/11, the European Court of Justice said that interference with public manifestations of religion may constitute religious persecution. It added that when this persecution is sufficiently serious, the status of refugee may be granted.
Y and Z, Pakistani nationals, currently live in Germany where they applied for asylum and protection as refugees. They are members of the Ahmadiyya community. The German authorities rejected Y and Z's applications for asylum, finding that the restrictions on the public practice of faith imposed on Ahmadis in Pakistan do not constitute persecution for the purposes of the right of asylum. The Court of Justice points out that “acts which may constitute a severe violation include serious acts which interfere with a person's freedom not only to practice his faith in private circles but also to live that faith publicly; the subjective circumstance that the observance of a certain religious practice in public, which is subject to the restrictions at issue, is of particular importance to the person concerned in order to preserve his religious identity is a relevant factor to be taken into account in determining the level of risk to which the applicant will be exposed in his country of origin on account of his religion, even if the observance of such a religious practice does not constitute a core element of faith for the religious community concerned. Indeed, the protection afforded on the basis of persecution on religious grounds extends both to forms of personal or communal conduct which the person concerned considers to be necessary to him - namely those based on … any religious belief - and to those prescribed by religious doctrine - namely those mandated by any religious belief”; and the Court of Justice therefore “holds that, where it is established that, upon his return to his country of origin, the person concerned will engage in a religious practice which will expose him to a real risk of persecution, he should be granted refugee status.” (LC/transl.fl)