Asylum seeker is allowed to remain after judge mixed up Iraq and Iran

AN Iraqi asylum seeker was allowed to stay in Britain after an immigration judge confused his country with Iran.

- Charlie Bradley

The unnamed man won his appeal after Judge Helena Suffield-Thompson delivered a ruling based on guidance relating to the wrong Middle Easter state.

She was meant to be assessing potential risks if the migrant was deported back to Iraq. He’d made posts against the Iraqi govern- ment on his public Facebook page and said he would be subject to persecution on his return.

Suffield-Thompson found in his favour, noting the "sophisticated" capability of the authorities to monitor social media accounts of political opponents.