CCPR/C/121/D/2770/2016
Protocol.22 Furthermore, the State party differentiates the present case from Jasin et al. v.
Denmark, in which the Committee considered that Denmark would violate article 7 of the
Covenant by removing the author to Italy. The State party notes that, in that case, the author
was a single mother who required medication for asthma, who had three minor children and
whose residence permit for Italy had expired. These facts cannot be compared to the
situation of the author, who is a grown, single man who has not requested medical
treatment and who has a valid residence permit in Greece. Therefore, no exceptional
circumstances exist in the present case. Furthermore, the State party notes that the author
paid for a hostel in Greece for a period of time and that he had sufficient resources to travel
to Denmark. The State party submits that taking into account all these factors, there is no
basis to consider that the author is particularly vulnerable.
4.6
Moreover, the State party indicates that as the author has refugee status in Greece,
which entitles him to a work permit of the same duration as his residence, he will be able to
support himself there.23 It further considers that it must be assumed that the author will also
receive any necessary medical treatment in Greece, if he requests it. With regard to the
author’s fear of racially motivated attacks, the State party notes that it appears from general
background information that although racially motivated attacks occur in Greece, there are
special police units which prevent and resolve such incidents and that legislation aimed at
appropriately punishing such attacks has recently been adopted. 24 The State party also
indicates that although it appears that Greek police are sometimes involved in acts of racial
discrimination, the author never reported that he had conflicts with the Greek authorities. In
addition, during his asylum proceedings, the author also stated that he had never
experienced any conflicts with political, religious or criminal groups, nor had he
experienced conflicts with private persons during his stay in Greece. Accordingly, it cannot
be accepted as a fact that he has been or could be subjected to racist attacks if deported to
Greece. Moreover, it must be assumed that the author can obtain protection from the Greek
authorities should he be attacked. The State party also indicates that the fact that the author
considered that the attitude of the Greek authorities was very aggressive cannot lead to a
different assessment.
4.7
Concerning the author’s reference to the jurisprudence of the European Court of
Human Rights,25 the State party considers that it does not apply to the present case as the
cases he referred to concerned asylum seekers whose situation cannot be compared to that
of individuals with valid residence permits in Greece. 26 In addition, the author’s allegations
with regard to reception conditions in Greece are relevant for individuals falling under the
Dublin Regulation but not for those who, like him, hold valid residence permits.
4.8
Finally, the State party recalls that important weight should be given to findings
made by domestic authorities, and that it is generally for State organs to assess the facts and
evidence of each case unless it can be established that such assessment was arbitrary or
amounted to a denial of justice.27 The author has failed to explain whether there were any
22
23
24
25
26
27
The State party also refers to European Court of Human Rights, Samsam Mohammed Hussein and
others v. the Netherlands and Italy (application No. 27725/10), judgment of 2 April 2013, in which
the Court considered that the fact that the applicant’s material and social living conditions would be
significantly reduced if he or she were to be removed from the contracting State was not sufficient to
give rise to a breach of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The State party refers to decree No. 189 of 1998 on conditions and procedures for the grant of a work
permit or any other assistance for occupational rehabilitation to refugees recognized by the State, to
asylum seekers and to temporary residents on humanitarian grounds, issued by the President of
Greece.
The State party refers to United States of America, Department of State, Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices for 2014 and Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015, available from
www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm.
M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece; Sharifi and others v. Italy and Greece (application No. 16643/09),
judgment of 21 October 2014.
The State party refers to communication No. 2523/2105, X v. Denmark, Views adopted on 1 April
2015.
The State party refers to communications No. 2272/2013, P.T. v. Denmark, Views adopted on 1 April
2015, para. 7.3; No. 2393/2104, K v. Denmark, Views adopted on 16 July 2015, paras. 7.4 and 7.5;
and No. 2426/2014, N v. Denmark, decision of inadmissibility adopted on 23 July 2015, para. 6.6.
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