CCPR/C/119/D/2593/2015 5.2 With regard to the State party’s statement that she is seeking to apply articles 17, 18 and 26 in an extraterritorial manner, the author clarifies that she is arguing that her previous experience combined with available background information on the situation of transgender women in Malaysia confirm that, as a woman, her rights to private life and to freedom of religion would be violated in Malaysia. These factors taken together increase the author’s risk of being subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if returned. 5.3 The author notes that having undergone gender reassignment surgery and taken female hormones — together with the fact that she is 170 cm tall, weighs 105 kg and has a shoe size of 44 — she appears as an unusually large woman and that this external appearance gives rise to suspicion of whether she is a man dressed in women’s clothing. It is most likely for this reason that the author has been subjected to frequent identity checks by the Malaysian police and that she would be again at risk of those checks. Also, in the context of those checks, the tattoos on her chest, left hand and her back would also be uncovered. Based on that, she would be transferred to the sharia court for the case that is pending against her. 5.4 The author cites several reports by governmental and non-governmental organizations on the situation of transgender people in Malaysia. In particular, a report by Human Rights Watch9 notes that discrimination against transgender people is pervasive and that the Federal Court decided in October 2016 to overrule a lower court decision that had declared unconstitutional a provision in the Islamic law of the Negeri Sembilan State criminalizing cross-dressing. According to a report by the Department of State of the United States of America, 10 transgender individuals are often charged under the Minor Offences Act for “indecent behaviour” and may be fined or, in the case of repeat convictions, sentenced to up to three months’ imprisonment. Issues and proceedings before the Committee Consideration of admissibility 6.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Committee must decide, in accordance with rule 93 of its rules of procedure, whether it is admissible under the Optional Protocol. 6.2 The Committee has ascertained, as required under article 5 (2) (a) of the Optional Protocol, that the same matter is not being examined under any other international procedure of investigation or settlement. 6.3 The Committee notes the author’s claim that she has exhausted all effective domestic remedies available to her. In the absence of any objection by the State party in that connection, the Committee considers that the requirements of article 5 (2) (b) of the Optional Protocol have been met. 6.4 The Committee takes note of the author’s claim that her return to Malaysia puts her at risk of imprisonment due to her alleged conversion to Hinduism, in violation of article 7, read in conjunction with article 18 (1), of the Covenant, as conversion is not permitted by sharia law in Malaysia. The Committee notes, however, the State party’s submission that the author informed the Danish authorities that she had not formally converted to Hinduism. Furthermore, in this connection, the author has not provided the Committee with any details regarding her alleged conversion, or the consequences thereof. She has not claimed that the alleged case against her before the sharia court in Melaka is related to her joining Hinduism, or that she has otherwise been subjected to persecution as a result of her conversion, nor has she provided any details regarding the likely risk and nature of such persecution if she were returned. Accordingly, the Committee concludes that this claim is insufficiently substantiated and therefore inadmissible pursuant to article 2 of the Optional Protocol. 9 10 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2016 (New York, 2016), pp. 393-394. United States, Department of State, “Country reports on human rights practices for 2014 — Malaysia”, 25 June 2015. 5