CCPR/C/121/D/2471/2014 Author’s comments on the State party’s observations on the merits 7.1 On 27 January 2017, the author submitted his comments on the State party’s observations. He informed the Committee that, on 20 October 2014, he submitted an asylum application to the President of Belarus based on the possibility of persecution on religious grounds following his conversion to Christianity. In November 2014, the author’s 17-year-old son was diagnosed with an oncological disease. Because of this, the author was released from detention on humanitarian grounds on 16 January 2015, pending consideration of his asylum application. On 27 February 2015, the presidential commission on citizenship rejected his application. 7.2 On 5 January 2015, the author filed an appeal against the expulsion decision with the Zavodskoy District Court in Minsk. The Court rejected his appeal on 22 April 2015. The author filed a cassation appeal with the Minsk City Court on 22 May 2015. The Court rejected the cassation appeal on an unspecified date. 7.3 On 22 July 2015, the author filed a second asylum application with the Department of Citizenship and Migration, indicating conversion to Christianity as the main ground for seeking international protection.2 On 17 May 2016, the Department rejected his request. The author appealed to the Central District Court in Minsk. The Court rejected his appeal on 4 June 2016. The author submitted a cassation appeal to the Minsk City Court on 6 July 2016, which was rejected on 15 September 2016. 7.4 On 23 September 2016, the author received notification of the renewal of the expulsion order issued in his regard. He is currently living under the threat of detention and expulsion to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 7.5 The author claims that his son’s medical condition entails a high level of parental care and substantial financial costs. Expulsion in these circumstances would violate the right to family life of the author and his wife and son. 7.6 In his submission, the author raises a new claim under article 18 of the Covenant, read alone and in conjunction with articles 6, 7, and 14 (1) and (2). He claims that he converted to Christianity in 2002. He attends church with his family and celebrates Christian festivities. At a hearing before the Central District Court in Minsk on 1 July 2016, a pastor, S.K., testified that, in 2002, he had accepted the author into the Christian faith and now considers him a profound believer in the Christian religion. The author alleges that the Iranian authorities are aware of his conversion, a fact confirmed by statements and letters from the Iranian embassy and by the mass media. Conversion to Christianity is a capital offence in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In case of expulsion, he will face the threat of torture and death without a fair trial. Issues and proceedings before the Committee Consideration of admissibility 8.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Committee must decide, in accordance with rule 93 of its rules of procedure, whether the communication is admissible under the Optional Protocol. 8.2 The Committee has ascertained, as required under article 5 (2) (a) of the Optional Protocol, that the same matter is not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement. 8.3 With regard to the author’s claim of a violation of article 9 of the Covenant, the Committee notes that the author has not brought the issue of arbitrary detention before the domestic courts. Accordingly, the Committee declares this part of the communication inadmissible under article 5 (2) (b) of the Optional Protocol. 2 The State party’s submission and that of the author give different dates of submission for the second asylum application. Since neither party submitted a copy of the application, it is impossible to clarify the date. 5