>> Asylum Granted for Pakistani Apostic

07 March 2010

Asylum Granted for Pakistani Apostic

Lyndhurst Asylum Unit grants Political Asylum to Pakistani Woman who Converted out of Islam and into Christianity.

Last month the Lyndhurst Asylum Unit granted political asylum to a Pakistani woman who, after researching and studying, converted to Christianity from Islam. Under Islamic Law, (Shariah)conversion out of Islam is punishable by death. As a result, should she return to Pakistan, she would be at great risk of being murdered In fact such killings, often at the hands of family members, are not even investigated in Pakistan.

In order to be granted asylum one must prove that he or she has a well-founded fear of being persecuted on the basis of race, religion, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, or nationality in his or her country of origin. And the persecution can be at the hands of the government or groups that the government can not or will not control. 

Furthermore, the requirement of filing for asylum within one year of one’s arrival in the US was satisfied because, even though she has been here for more than five years, her conversion, the occurrence which put her into danger, occurred less than one year before filing. 

Now, the Asylee will have permission to work for one year, and will then be eligible to apply for permanent residence.



Attorney Joseph G. Cella and his staff prepared and prosecuted this case, and we are all extremely pleased with the outcome.