CAT/C/34/D/220/2002 Page 6 4.4 In addition, the State party refers to a confidential report from a “study tour” of officials from the Aliens Appeal Board in October 2002, which states, inter alia, that: false documents are very common in Bangladesh; persecution for political reasons is a rare occurrence at the grass-roots level but leading politicians within the opposition, such as former members of parliament are subjected to false accusations, arrest and torture by the police; a suspect does not have access to an arrest warrant, since such a document is directed by the court to the police; the main reason for seeking asylum is to get a job and an income; and people at grass-roots level in politics who are harassed may seek refuge in other parts of the country. 4.5 According to the State party, the national authority conducting the asylum interview is in the best position to assess the complainant’s credibility. In the present case, the Migration Board took its decision after interviewing with the complainant for three hours. Taken together with the facts and the documentation of this case, the Board had ample time to make important additional observations. The State party relies on the opinions of the Migration Board and the Aliens Appeal Board. 4.6 Regarding the complainant’s allegation that he risks persecution by private individuals because of his religion, the State party submits that the risk of being subjected to ill-treatment by a non-governmental entity or by private individuals, without the consent or acquiescence of the government of the receiving country, falls outside the scope of article 3 of the Convention. In any event, the complainant has not substantiated his claim that he risks treatment in accordance with article 3. The State party notes that the complainant has not provided any details before the Swedish immigration authorities about the religious persecution that he and his family were allegedly subjected to. The complainant stated that the persecution which had led to his father’s death in 1986 ceased shortly afterwards when the family moved to Barisal City. There is no evidence that the complainant himself was the target of religious persecution. 4.7 Regarding the complainant’s allegation that he risks torture because of his involvement with the BFP, the State party submits that the complainant has repeatedly stated that he was exposed to maltreatment by his political opponents in the Awami League, which was the party in power in Bangladesh at the relevant time and that he fears its supporters may kill him if he returns. But the risk of being maltreated by political opponents who are in the opposition3 cannot be attributed to the State party and must be regarded as falling outside the scope of article 3. Should a risk exist, it would probably be of a local character since the complainant has only been politically active on the local level. There is no indication that he has anything to fear from the BNP, which is currently in power. 4.8 Concerning the allegations of past torture, the State party submits that the complainant did not mention either during the asylum interview held in March 2000 or at the meeting with representatives of the Aliens Appeal Board in July 2002 relating to his new application that he had suffered from torture by the police. It was only in his first appeal to the Aliens Appeal Board on 18 June 2001 that the authorities were informed that the complainant had been tortured by police in 1995 and in 1997 or 1998. When initially examined in August 2001, he complained of 3 The Bangladesh National Party has been in power again since 2001.