Cyprus rejects Congolese woman’s asylum bid over homicide, rape claims

Local congomigrationTop News Cyprus rejects Congolese woman’s asylum bid over homicide, rape claims Supreme Court Upholds Detention Of Congolese Man Seeking Release Relevant News Cyprus rejects Congolese woman’s asylum bid over homicide, rape claims 17 July 2026 Yellow warning: temperatures to hit 40 degrees Friday 17 July 2026 Female bus driver attacked by passenger in Limassol 16 July 2026 Panayiota Charalambous 17 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Administrative Court of Appeal has upheld the rejection of an asylum application from a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo, closing the case definitively. The Court ruled that her account contained substantial contradictions and did not establish a right to refugee status or subsidiary protection. The appellant had claimed she was being persecuted in her country of origin because, working as a nurse, she had administered medication to a young girl who subsequently died. According to her account, the girl’s father, a police officer, arranged her arrest on a homicide charge, and she later escaped from prison and fled to Cyprus to seek international protection. The Asylum Service had classified the applicant as a vulnerable person. She had been a victim of sexual abuse during her adolescence. Despite this, the Service rejected her application, finding her core account not credible. That decision was upheld by the Administrative Court of International Protection, bringing the case before the Administrative Court of Appeal. In a unanimous ruling, the Court of Appeal found no grounds to intervene in the first-instance decision, noting that its own role is limited to reviewing legality rather than reassessing the substance of the facts. The first-instance court, it held, had adequately explained why it found the appellant’s account unreliable, pointing to vagueness, contradictions and inconsistencies in her statements. The Court of Appeal also agreed with the rejection of two documents she had submitted in support of her claims: a photograph of the girl who died, and an alleged arrest warrant. Particular attention was given to the arrest warrant. The Court noted that it had not been submitted during the administrative process before the Asylum Service, and that it showed deviations from the standard format of equivalent documents in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to country-of-origin information available to the Court. On the appellant’s claims of rape during her adolescence, the Court of Appeal noted that the first-instance court had corrected a related omission by the Asylum Service, recognising that women in the Democratic Republic of Congo can constitute a particular social group for the purposes of international protection, and that rape constitutes an act of persecution. However, the Court agreed with the conclusion that this alone was not sufficient to grant refugee status, since there was no indication the woman faced a real risk of experiencing similar persecution again if returned. It took into account that, as a nursing graduate, she could find work, and that she had a family and social support network in her country. The Court also rejected claims to subsidiary protection, finding it had not been proven that the appellant would face risk of the death penalty, torture or inhuman treatment, while information on the security situation in her region of origin did not justify protection on the grounds of indiscriminate violence from armed conflict. The Administrative Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in its entirety and awarded costs of 2,000 euros, plus VAT, in favour of the Republic of Cyprus. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Yellow warning: temperatures to hit 40 degrees Friday Female bus driver attacked by passenger in Limassol Limassol attempted murder victim wakes from sedation, stable It’s time for permanent daylight saving time in Europe too EU weighs reforms to make banks more competitive as sector lags behind US Parliament member elected on 280 votes: just how fair is the electoral system? Police constable driving without insurance, over alcohol limit, in Nicosia crash that burned two cars (video) Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.