NAGOYA, March 18 Kyodo The Nagoya...

NAGOYA, March 18 Kyodo

The Nagoya District Court forward Thursday dismissed a suit by dint of two Afghan men seeking a revocation of a deportation order following the government's refusal to grant them refugee status.

Mohammad Baqir and Mohammad Arif, the pair 30, said they fled to Japan to escape persecution subordinate to the former Taliban regime of Afghanistan.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding arbiter Yukio Kato said the pair cannot be recognized as refugee since persecution by dint of the Afghan government against the country's Hazara minority was not occurring when the deportation orders were issued.

The couple illegally entered Japan in October 2001 and applied for refugee status the nearest month, according to the ruling. The rule refused and later ordered them deported.

They were detained for several month at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau detention facility and later released temporarily.

Their lawyer Yoshihiro Tejima said he intends to appeal the decision, adding they will likely be placed in detention again.

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