DS v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant, D S, is a citizen of Turkey of Kurdish ethnicity who appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) against a decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department made on 27 December 2024. He claimed that he would be at risk on return to Turkey on account of his political opinion, alternatively that he qualified for humanitarian protection on the same basis, and that removal would breach his rights under Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the ECHR. His account was that he came from a politically active family, supported and had been a member of the HDP, was detained by the Turkish authorities on three occasions, agreed under duress in May 2023 to act as an informer, fled to Istanbul, and left the country while an arrest warrant was outstanding. The Secretary of State accepted his identity, nationality and Kurdish ethnicity, and accepted that sufficiency of protection and internal relocation would not be available if the material facts were accepted; credibility remained in issue. An earlier hearing before Judge Bowen on 1 June 2026 was adjourned at the appellant's request, with directions for further evidence by 29 June 2026. No further evidence was filed, his solicitors ceased to act, and he did not attend the resumed hearing on 7 September 2026.