Court sides with Egyptian man's plea for refugee status

An Egyptian facing persecution in his home country for participating in pro-democracy protests has been granted refugee status after winning a lawsuit against the South Korean Justice Ministry and its immigration office, the court said Sunday.

According to the Seoul Administrative Court on Sunday, the Egyptian man took part in a pro-democracy protests in 2011 to oust then-President Hosni Mubarak and other protests from 2013 to 2014 against the coup of current Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi.

Arrested in 2017, he was detained for about a month, tortured and forced to confess that he was a member of an anti-government organization. After he was released on bail, he fled the country with his family and came to Korea on a B-2 visa in May 2018.

His application for refugee recognition was declined by the Justice Ministry twice the following year, and he brought the case to trial.

The court said in its ruling that the Korea Immigration Services under the Ministry of Justice's decision to refuse the Egyptian family's plea for refugee was illegal as documents that show their history of being oppressed are credible.

"Considering the overall credibility of the plaintiff's statement and the current situation in Egypt, it is recognized that the plaintiff will be exposed to persecution by the government due to his political stance if he returns to his homeland,” the court said.

The court also ruled that the man’s wife and children should be recognized as refugees as well, under the Refugee Act that stipulates the spouse and minor children of recognized refugees should also be allowed to enter the country.