Tribunal hears country guidance case about Iraq and ISIS

The Upper Tribunal has this week heard argument in an important country guidance case (AA (Iraq)) concerning the spread of ISIS in Iraq and whether it is possible to return failed asylum-seekers to Baghdad or the Kurdish Regional Government (“KRG”) area. The Tribunal has to consider the extent to which ISIS exercises control over territory in Iraq and the risk of sectarian violence to ordinary civilians in Baghdad and the KRG. The Home Office has accepted that it would not be possible to return failed asylum-seekers to those areas of Iraq which are either under the control of ISIS or where there is open conflict between ISIS and the Iraqi Security Forces. The case turns on the situation in Baghdad and the KRG. David Blundell represents the Secretary of State.