TS v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant, T S, is a citizen of Bangladesh who claimed asylum in the United Kingdom in June 2023. Her two daughters, aged 20 and 17, are her dependants for the purposes of the appeal. She asserted that she would be at risk on return to Bangladesh because of her religious views as an atheist, alternatively that she qualified for humanitarian protection on the same basis, and that removal would breach her and her family's rights under Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the ECHR. Her case was that she had operated a blog since around 2017 challenging religious norms and writing about the treatment of women, and that she had received threats in consequence since 2016 — anonymous telephone calls and visits to her home — and further threats via Facebook after her arrival in the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State refused the claim on 10 December 2024, and the appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). Before the Tribunal the Secretary of State did not dispute the appellant's identity and nationality, accepted that atheism was capable of amounting to a religious belief for Refugee Convention purposes, accepted that the appellant had a family life in the United Kingdom, and accepted that she would be at risk if her account were accepted in full. The appeal was heard by video at Newport on 11 September 2026.