CAT/C/61/D/747/2016
relied on M.’s testimony against him, which had been obtained under torture and later
withdrawn, lacks substantiation. According to the trial court’s decision, M.Y. initially
confessed that he had committed the crime, while later he claimed that it had been
committed by the complainant and subsequently withdrew his accusation. The trial court
considered that M.Y. had withdrawn his testimony fearing reprisals from the family. The
court referred to M.Y.’s medical certificate of 20 November 1988, according to which there
were no torture marks on his body. Therefore, the Swiss asylum authorities considered that
the complainant’s allegations that he, M.Y. and S.Y. had been tortured lacked credibility. In
the 22 June 2015 decision, the trial court established that the penalty imposed on the
complainant was not subject to a statute of limitations. Furthermore, the Swiss asylum
authorities considered that the complainant’s statement that he had been working in the
cotton field in Suruç village when A.Y. was murdered not to be credible, since he provided
contradictory accounts at asylum interviews. The State party further submits that there has
been no case of Turkey requesting extradition on common-law charges for the purpose of
political persecution.
4.8
The State party notes that extraditions between Switzerland and Turkey are
governed by the European Convention on Extradition of 1957, to which they are parties.
Under this Convention, the parties undertake to surrender to each other, subject to the
provisions and conditions laid down in the Convention, all persons against whom the
competent authorities of the requesting party are proceeding for an offence or who are
wanted by the said authorities for the carrying out of a sentence or detention order (art. 1).
Extradition shall not be granted if the offence in respect of which it is requested is regarded
by the requested party as a political offence or as an offence connected with a political
offence or if the requested party has substantial grounds for believing that a request for
extradition for an ordinary criminal offence has been made for the purpose of prosecuting
or punishing a person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion, or
that the person’s position may be prejudiced for any of these reasons (art. 3). Switzerland
considers its obligations under the European Convention on Extradition in the light of its
human rights obligations. Under article 2 of the Federal Law on International Cooperation
in Extradition Matters of 20 March 1981, Switzerland would reject an extradition request if
there were grounds to believe that the procedure in the receiving party was in breach of the
requirements under the European Convention on Human Rights or the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; aimed at prosecuting persons for their political
opinions or on other discriminatory grounds, or risked aggravating their situation; or had
other serious defects. If there are serious grounds to believe that the person would be
exposed to a risk of ill-treatment if extradited, diplomatic assurances allow this risk to be
eliminated or reduced by allowing extradition under certain conditions, for instance the
commitment of the requesting State to ensure visits of detainees without notice by
representatives of the Swiss Embassy; to provide them unrestricted access to lawyers and
medical care; and to ensure their right to visits from relatives. Regarding extraditions to
Turkey, the State party does not in principle request diplomatic assurances but can do so in
more sensitive political cases. It has a long-standing practice of cooperation in extradition
matters with Turkey and the Federal Office of Justice has no record of cases where Turkey
has violated the principle of speciality or human rights. The complainant has not disputed
this.
4.9
The State party specifies that the diplomatic assurances provided by Turkey are as
follows:
The conditions of detention of the prosecuted person would not be inhuman
or degrading and would comply with the requirements of article 3 of the [European
Convention on Human Rights]. The person’s physical and psychological integrity
would be respected. The person’s conditions of imprisonment would not be
aggravated for reason of his belonging to a social group or on grounds of race,
religion or ethnicity. The person’s health condition would be given due
consideration, including through appropriate medical supervision. The person will
have the right to unlimited and confidential contacts with his lawyer, chosen or
appointed. The person will have the right to visits in detention. The Turkish
authorities would not prosecute the person on political grounds in relation to his
conviction or impose a penalty for this reason. The penalty imposed for the
8