Compulsory training for Home Office after flawed understanding of Humanism (15 May 2019)

Our client Hamza Bin Walayat previously claimed asylum on the basis that he would be persecuted and killed in Pakistan for his belief in Humanism. The Home Office rejected his claim on the grounds that he could not identify Plato and Aristotle as humanists. Following the international attention drawn to his case, Mr Bin Walayat instructed Duncan Lewis to assist him in submitting a new asylum claim which has now been successful.

Hamza Bin Walayat claimed asylum in July 2017 after receiving death threats from his family in Pakistan because he had renounced Islam, and had instead joined Humanists UK to advocate for freedom of religion. The Home Office rejected his claim on the basis that he had not given a credible account of his belief in Humanism, due to his inability to identify Plato or Aristotle as influential Humanist thinkers; as a result of this, the Home Office concluded: “Your knowledge of humanism is rudimentary at best and not of a level that would be expected of a genuine follower of humanism.”

This deeply flawed understanding of Humanism in the Home Office’s assessment of asylum seekers led to Humanists UK calling for the Home Office to educate officials about Humanism. This prompted the introduction of compulsory training on humanist asylum claims for all relevant Home Office staff, which Bin Walayat has been actively involved in.

Since coming to the UK, Mr Bin Walayat has been passionate about Humanism and human rights. He is a fully qualified volunteer humanist pastoral carer and has also completed his certification of Human Rights from Amnesty International UK. He is now Secretary General of Greater Manchester Humanists, a volunteer and a member of National Secular Society, Faith to Faithless, and of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.

Mr Bin Walayat’s case highlights the critical importance of the ‘fresh claim’ system which enables rejected asylum seekers to gather and submit new evidence in support of their asylum claim.


Background

Under Pakistani law, atheists and other non-believers can face the death penalty for blasphemy and apostasy. These laws have created an environment in which Islamic militants and perpetrators of vigilantes justice feel entitled to take the law into their own hands, while the police stand aside. The laws have been used as a cover for perpetrators of mob violence and even lawyers defending the accused in blasphemy cases have been targeted with threats and physical attack. Religious fundamentalists operate in all areas of Pakistan with virtual impunity, where the police often fail to protect their victims.

Individuals with connections to Humanism have historically faced persecution and murder for their beliefs in Pakistan; prominent human rights lawyers and academics have been shot and killed after publically advocating for Humanism, and in April 2017 Mashal Khan, a student who referred to himself as a Humanist on his Facebook page, was murdered after being shot and beaten with sticks by fellow students whilst police officers stood by.


Mr Bin Walayat’s Case

In January 2018, news about Mr Bin Walayat’s claim hit UK headlines; Humanists UK delivered a petition with more than 12,500 signatures to the Home Secretary Amber Rudd and co-organised a joint letter signed by more than 150 philosophers in support of Mr Bin Walayat after the Home Office rejected his claim. Several prominent humanists and human rights campaigners - Richard Dawkins and Peter Tatchell among them – came out in support of Mr Bin Walayat, and the news eventually reached international headlines. Mr Bin Walayat’s story was published in the Guardian, Time Magazine, Daily Pakistan and others, and his case was the discussed in the House of Lords and at the United Nations during the 37th regular session of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Following the attention drawn his case, Mr Bin Walayat instructed Jamie Bell and Elleanor Wilkins of Duncan Lewis Solicitors to submit further evidence in support of his claim. With the support of Humanists UK, Greater Manchester Humanists, Amnesty International, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain among others, Mr Bin Walayat was able to adduce vital new evidence to show that he would risk being persecuted or killed if he returned to Pakistan owing to the publicity surrounding his case and his now internationally-publicised beliefs.

Mr Bin Walayat’s case was successful and he was granted refugee status in April 2019 after a 4 and a half month wait.


Elleanor Wilkins, Mr Bin Walayat’s caseworker, has said:

“We are so pleased that Hamza has been recognised as a refugee and can now move on with his life in the UK, after a long and stressful process. We were able to help Hamza gather further evidence including evidence of how his case and humanist beliefs had been widely publicised in the media internationally, putting him at high risk of religious persecution in Pakistan. We assisted him to submit a new asylum claim which has now been successful. His case highlights the critical importance of the ‘fresh claim’ system which enables rejected asylum seekers to gather and submit new evidence in support of their asylum claim”.


Mr. Bin Walayat was represented by Jamie Bell and Elleanor Wilkins of Duncan Lewis Harrow Public Law team.