iMMO report should be involved in asylum judgement

The iMMO report on Carolina’s asylum account* plays an important role in the judgment of the Council of State. After the court had stated that the rejection of the asylum application was insufficiently motivated, the IND also does not include the iMMO report in the appeal.

On April 17, 2024, the Council of State** declares the State Secretary’s appeal unfounded based on abbreviated grounds. This is a case in which an iMMO report is given an important role precisely because it is ignored by the IND. In Carolina’s appeal against the rejection decision, the court had previously found that the IND had insufficiently motivated their decision. According to the Council of State, the IND could have easily rectified this in new decision-making.

After the first asylum application is rejected, Carolina files a second asylum application with the help of iMMO’s expert report. The second asylum application is also rejected, after which Carolina appeals. The court already ruled that the outcome of the iMMO report had not been adequately considered in the IND’s final decision, and ordered the IND to pay the full costs of the medical assessment and the iMMO report. According to the court, the report clearly showed that there were multiple scars that could be attributed to the alleged violence, and psychological problems that affected the ability to provide consistent, coherent and complete testimony at the time of the interviews.

The court also mentions the influence of feelings of guilt and shame that can cause limitations during the interview. In a previous newsletter, the influence of feelings of guilt and shame on the ability to explain about the alleged violence is further explained within the framework of the Council of State ruling of December 13, 2023 (202108163/1, ECLI:NL:RVS:2023:4620).

With the ruling, the Council recognizes that the outcome of the iMMO assessment must be taken into account in the final decision. The IND has to take a new decision.

* All names are fictitious.
** Number 202204804/1, ECLI:NL:RVS:2024:1571