Immigration

It was well-established that there were no hierarchies of protection among the reasons for persecution given by the European Convention on Human Rights, and the “well-founded fear of persecution” test set out in the Convention did not change according to which Convention reason was engaged. On the case law, Art 9 of the Convention protected the rights of both religious believers and unbelievers. There was no basis in principle for treating the right to hold and not to hold political beliefs any differently. Article 10 provided that everyone had the right to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions: that had to include the freedom not to hold opinions. Although much of the case law dealt with religious beliefs, there was no basis for treating the right to hold and not hold political views differently from religious ones. Furthermore, there was no distinction to be drawn between people who had deliberately chosen not to voice