CAT/C/71/D/874/2018
not, in itself, reliably demonstrate a genuine religious conviction. The complainant was also
deemed to lack knowledge of Christianity, even though he claimed to have read a lot about
the religion and participated actively in the congregation since the end of 2015. The
complainant was therefore not considered to have shown that he had left Islam and converted
to Christianity out of a genuine religious conviction.
4.10 On appeal, the Migration Court noted that the complainant did not present any written
documents in support of his claims and relied on his oral account. The Court considered, in
accordance with guiding judgment MIG 2011:29 of the Migration Court of Appeal, that, in
an assessment of whether an alien has plausibly demonstrated that his or her conversion from
one religion to another is real, in the sense that it is based on a genuine and personal religious
conviction, an overall assessment must be made of the circumstances in which the conversion
took place and of whether the alien could be expected to live as a convert upon returning to
his or her country of origin. If the conversion occurred after the alien left his or her home
country, extra attention should be given to the question of credibility.
4.11 The Migration Court did not question the complainant’s assertion that he had
undertaken activities in the religious community. However, it found it remarkable that,
despite that, he was only able to give vague replies lacking in detail about his conversion or
his thoughts about the two religions. He had not arranged to be baptised and therefore did not
fully regard himself as a believer. The Court did not find the complainant’s conversion to be
based on genuine belief and careful consideration. In view of that, the Court did not find it
plausible that the complaint would, upon returning to his country of origin, live in such a way
that would expose him to persecution. The Court found that no one was aware of the
complainant’s interest in another religion in his country of origin. The Court therefore agreed
with the findings of the Swedish Migration Agency that the complainant had failed to
plausibly demonstrate that his cited conversion to Christianity and alleged renunciation of
Islam were based on a genuine conviction.
4.12 After the decision to expel the complainant had become final and non-appealable, he
filed an application to be granted a new examination of the issue of a residence permit and
cited impediments to the enforcement of the expulsion order. He stated that everyone in
Afghanistan had been told about his conversion. He claimed that a friend of his, who had
returned to Sweden from Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, had contacted him to tell him that the
Taliban were aware of his conversion and were looking for him. The complainant stated that,
given that information spread easily in Afghanistan, his family was now aware of his
conversion. He submitted a copy of a written document which he claimed to have received
from the Taliban.
4.13 The State party clarifies that a new examination requires that the alien could not
previously have cited the circumstances in question or that the alien shows a valid excuse for
not having done so in the context of the initial examination. The expression “new
circumstances” means that it cannot only be a matter of modifications or additions to the
circumstances originally cited. The expression “can be assumed to constitute a lasting
impediment to enforcement” means that it cannot be a matter of a more or less remote
possibility that the circumstances cited constitute an impediment to enforcement. It must be
considered that there are specific impediments to enforcement in the individual case. The
migration authorities can neither re-examine a decision issued by a higher authority nor
examine the accuracy of assessments made by a higher authority. The authorities can only
consider new circumstances that have emerged in the case.
4.14 The Swedish Migration Agency noted that the complainant’s cited conversion had
already been examined during the initial asylum proceedings. It was therefore not possible to
examine it again. However, the Agency considered the alleged threats from the Taliban due
to his conversion, as well as the documents submitted, to be new circumstances. As the only
copies of the documents had been submitted, the Agency assessed their probative value as
low, because images of documents can be easily manipulated. The Agency held that no
information had been submitted to suggest how the Taliban had learned of the complainant’s
conversion. The Agency therefore found that the complainant’s account could not be
assumed to constitute a lasting impediment to the enforcement pursuant to chapter 12,
sections 1 to 3, of the Aliens Act.
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