CAT/C/49/D/435/2010
editors to its offices for distorting Government statements and in 2010 it warned the editors
of the Mwananchi newspaper of possible legal action if the newspaper continued to publish
articles criticizing the Government. The State party notes, however, that no further action
was taken against those editors and Mwananchi continued to publish critical articles.
Moreover, according the Reporters Without Borders 2010 World Press Freedom Index,
Tanzania was ranked among the world’s top 50 nations in terms of respect for press and
media freedom. It also noted that attacks on journalists have decreased in number over the
years and journalists work in steadily improving conditions.
4.9
As to the present case, the State party maintains that there may be no doubts that the
circumstances referred to in the reports above and in the Migration Board’s decision do not
in themselves suffice to establish that the forced return of the complainant to the United
Republic of Tanzania would entail a violation of article 3 of the Convention. The
Committee, therefore, should determine the complainant’s personal risk of being subjected
to torture following his removal to Tanzania.
4.10 The State party notes that, according to the Committee’s jurisprudence, for the
purposes of article 3 of the Convention the individual concerned must face a foreseeable,
real and personal risk of being tortured in the country to which he or she is to be returned.7
In addition, the requirement of necessity and predictability should be interpreted in the light
of the Committee’s general comment No. 1 (1997) on the implementation of article 3 of the
Convention,8 according to which it is for the complainant to present an arguable case.
Moreover, the risk of torture must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or
suspicion, although it does not have to meet the test of being highly probable.
4.11 The State party adds that the complainant’s claims were examined in accordance
with the applicable domestic law, and that several provisions of the Aliens Act reflect the
same principle as that laid down in article 3 of the Convention. Thus, the Swedish
migration authorities have applied the same test in assessing the risk of being subjected to
torture when considering an asylum application under the Act as the Committee would
apply when examining a subsequent communication under the Convention.9 The State party
emphasizes that the national authorities are well placed to assess the information submitted
by an asylum seeker and to appraise his or her statements and claims in view of the fact that
they have the benefit of direct contact with the person concerned. In the light of the above,
the State party contends that a great weight must be attached to the assessment made by the
Swedish migration authorities, which in the present case was well justified.
4.12 Concerning the assessments of the credibility of the complainant’s statements, the
State party draws the Committee’s attention to the fact that the complainant provided the
Committee with a document which appears to be a medical record, dated 20 July 2002 and
issued by the Maswa Council Hospital in the United Republic of Tanzania. However, no
such document was ever presented before the migration authorities. The State party adds
that, in any event, it is not clear whether the complainant was examined by a medical doctor
specializing in torture injuries, nor how the medical examination was carried out. The State
party further notes that the document seems to be a medical record and not a medical report
in its strict sense. The document is vague and does not contain any concrete details
concerning, for example, the injuries and how they may have occurred. Consequently, the
State party considers that the document in question should be given very little, if any, value
7
8
9
6
Reference is made to communication No. 103/1998, S.M.R. and M.M.R. v. Sweden, Views adopted on
5 May 1999, para. 9.7.
Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-third Session, Supplement No. 44 (A/53/44 and
Corr.1), annex IX.
Reference is made to chapter 4, sections 1 and 2 of the Act.