CAT/C/32/D/196/2002 Page 8 submits that, in the circumstances, a complainant may lodge a new request for a residence permit with the Aliens Appeals Board at any time and that such a request must be considered by the Board provided that new circumstances are adduced that could call for a different decision. The Committee considers that the complainant, by bringing his claim before the highest appellate body in Sweden under domestic legislation, has exhausted available and effective domestic remedies. As the Committee sees no further obstacles to admissibility, it declares the complaint admissible and proceeds to a consideration of the merits. Consideration of the merits 6.2 The Committee must decide whether the forced return of the complainant to Bangladesh would violate the State party's obligation, under article 3, paragraph 1 of the Convention, not to expel or return (refouler) an individual to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. It follows that, in conformity with the Committee's jurisprudence and despite the allegations of the complainant in regard to the situation in Bangladesh as per paragraph 3, the existence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in a country does not as such constitute sufficient grounds for determining whether the particular person would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon his return to that country; additional grounds must be adduced to show that the individual concerned would be personally at risk. Conversely, the absence of a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights does not mean that a person cannot be considered to be in danger of being subjected to torture in his or her specific circumstances. 6.3 The Committee takes note of the information received from the complainant about the general human rights situation in Bangladesh, in particular recurrent incidents of police violence against prisoners and political opponents. The Committee notes that the State party, while agreeing that there are repeated reports of police torture, nevertheless considers that the judiciary displays a significant degree of independence. 6.4 The Committee observes that the main reason the complainant fears a personal risk of torture if returned to Bangladesh is that he was previously subjected to torture for his membership in Shanty Bahini and in the opposition party BNP, and that he risks being imprisoned upon his return to Bangladesh pursuant to his alleged sentence to life imprisonment. 6.5 The Committee also notes that the grounds for which the complainant was previously tortured no longer exist, since he was first tortured in 1990 for belonging to an organisation (the Shanti Bahini) but he has not submitted evidence to substantiate that he still belongs to that organisation, and later on for participating in the activities of the BNP, which was then in opposition and is now the ruling party in Bangladesh. This fact has added importance in the case since the events that allegedly prompted his departure from Bangladesh were directly related to his activities in support of that party. Furthermore, although reports of human rights violations in Bangladesh still refer to a widespread practice of ill treatment of prisoners by the police, the complainant