Judgment_paragraph 26 · P.I. v Migracijos departamentas prie Lietuvos Respublikos vidaus reikalų ministerijos (C-280/21)

26In that connection, it is appropriate, in the first place, to observe that the wording itself of those provisions means that the concept of ‘political opinion’ is to be interpreted broadly. That premiss is based on several factors. The first is the use of the phrase ‘in particular’ in order to list, non-exhaustively, the features which may serve to identify that concept. Next, not only ‘opinions’ are referred to, but also ‘thoughts’ and ‘beliefs’ on a matter related to the potential actors of persecution and to the ‘policies’ or ‘methods’ of those actors, without those opinions, thoughts or beliefs necessarily being acted upon by the applicant. Last, the perception of the ‘political’ nature of those opinions, thoughts or beliefs by the actors of persecution is highlighted.