CAT/C/54/D/538/2013
them. In accordance with the Minsk Convention, the State party also requested that it be
provided with the materials concerning the criminal investigation against the complainant
and its results. On the basis of these documents, the State party’s authorities concluded that
the complainant was sentenced for the crimes indicated in the extradition request and the
sentence is proportionate to the gravity of the committed crimes and is not aimed at
subjecting the complainant to repression, torture or inhuman treatment.
6.4
The decision to extradite the complainant was made in accordance with national and
international law and there are no grounds to return him from Uzbekistan.
Issues and proceedings before the Committee
The State party’s failure to cooperate and to respect the Committee’s request for interim
measures pursuant to rule 114 of its rules of procedures
7.1
The Committee notes that the adoption of interim measures pursuant to rule 114 of
its rules of procedure, in accordance with article 22 of the Convention, is vital to the role
entrusted to the Committee under that article. Failure to respect that provision, in particular
through such irreparable action as extraditing an alleged victim, undermines the protection
of the rights enshrined in the Convention.4
7.2
The Committee observes that any State party that has made a declaration under
article 22 (1) of the Convention recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and
consider complaints from individuals who claim to be victims of violations of the
provisions of the Convention. By making such a declaration, States parties implicitly
undertake to cooperate with the Committee in good faith by providing it with the means to
examine the complaints submitted to it and, after such examination, to communicate its
comments to the State party and the complainant. By failing to respect the request for
interim measures transmitted to the State party on 28 February 2013, the State party
seriously failed in its obligations under article 22 of the Convention because it prevented
the Committee from fully examining a complaint relating to a violation of the Convention,
rendering the action by the Committee futile and its findings without effect.
Consideration of admissibility
8.1
Before considering any complaint submitted in a communication, the Committee
must decide whether or not it is admissible under article 22 of the Convention. The
Committee has ascertained, as it is required to do under article 22 (5) (a) of the Convention,
that the same matter has not been and is not being examined under another procedure of
international investigation or settlement.
8.2
The Committee recalls that, in accordance with article 22 (5) (b) of the Convention,
it shall not consider any communication from an individual unless it has ascertained that the
individual has exhausted all available domestic remedies. The Committee notes that in the
instant case the State party has recognized that the complainant has exhausted all available
domestic remedies. As the Committee finds no further obstacles to admissibility, it declares
the communication admissible.
Consideration of the merits
9.1
The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information
made available to it by the parties, in accordance with article 22 (4) of the Convention.
4
See communication No. 444/2010, Abdussamatov et al. v. Kazakhstan, decision on admissibility of 15
November 2011, paras. 10.1 and 10.2.
7